Till I Found You…Grief Into Joy

Today’s reading is John 16 where the night before He was crucified Jesus foretells of his death and the sadness it will bring followed by the joy that will come when they see Him again through His resurrection.

“So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.”

John 16:22

Merriam-Webster defines joy as “the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires.”

As I read this, I thought to myself, do I have joy? Where am I seeking joy? Often we seek joy in the next promotion, the next sale, the new house, the new car, our net worth, or earthly relationships..only to find these things bring temporary pleasure. This brief pleasure is always fleeting..sometimes within minutes or hours, but always within days or years. None of them last forever. Even the best of marriages end with one spouse passing before the other and even if we are lucky to have an ending like The Notebook and pass at the same time…our life on this earth still ends. It doesn’t last forever. No marriage can bring everlasting joy.

Let’s break down how a relationship with Jesus provides true joy by Merriam-Webster’s definition…

When we know Him, we know our “well-being” is forever being take care of. Romans 8:31-32 says, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not graciously give us all things?”

When we know Him, we know we are a “success.” Despite our past sins, relational, professional, or financial failures, we know that we are a “success” because of Him. In Romans 8:38, the Apostle Paul says, “No in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” He also talks about winning the prize or the race in other writings.

When we know Him, we know we have “good fortune.” Can anything give us more “good fortune” than knowing every single one of our past sins and future mistakes are forgiven? Psalm 103:10-12 says, “He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” If that’s not good fortune, I don’t know what is!

When we know Him, we “possess what one desires.” What do we all desire? In my humble opinion, it is the forgiveness we just discussed, as well as a loving relationship that lasts forever through eternal life. The only way we get it is through one with Him. God began to let us know how He would do this all the way back in Isaiah 25:8 which says, “He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces…” God reminds us of this amazing promise again at the end of the Bible in Revelation 21:4 which reads, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall their be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

What do you believe is the greatest love song of all time? Well, I believe the greatest love song of all time has to be about the only love that can bring us true joy which cannot be taken from us because it lasts forever. Check out “Till I Found You” by Phil Wickham.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ewhz3pCk9vM

Jesus, the True Vine

John 15

Well, I’m sorry to say that today I have the perfect example to write on for John 15, 1-17.

Vs 4 “Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.” Vs 5 For apart from me you can do nothing.” Vs 9-11 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in His love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! These are some highlights from the chapter, but take the time to read the entire chapter as there is so much more than I can address here.

I’ve had a busy few days and gotten less sleep than I need the last few nights. You have all been in this spot…tired, a little overwhelmed and generally sick of the grind. When I woke this morning, I was not ready to face my list of things to do so I made the decision to lay in my bed for a few minutes and scroll through my phone before getting up and heading to my first apt for the day. Sounds harmless, I know. The issue is that a few months back I had gotten into a bad rut of running too hard at life and my time with God was getting squeezed out regularly instead of just occasionally. I was miserable, my heart was heavy in almost every relationship I was in, I wasn’t getting direction from God so I had no idea how to proceed in some seriously tough situations and I missed my Creator, Friend, Helper, Father and Confidant. When I finally made time to sit down and confess my selfishness with Him, He asked, What are you going to do from here on out to not land in this spot again in your life? As I was mulling over my options and feeling really frustrated because I knew my schedule wasn’t going to be slowing down anytime soon, He softly said to me, How about you commit to not looking at your phone when you wake up until you have met with Me? (I think we all know, and God for sure knows, how many minutes or portions of an hour we can mindlessly pass through while scrolling through FaceBook, Instagram, the news, texts, emails, or “one more level” of our favorite game.) I resisted in my heart to committing to His plan. I know myself well enough to know that I prefer a slower start to the day.  I’m not at my best first thing in the morning and I had consciously decided several years back that I wanted God to have my best time so I chose then to meet with Him later in the day after I had cleared the sleep cobwebs out of my brain a little. Since I made that “later morning” commitment my life has gone through some changes, and my schedule looks very different then it did at that time.  Back to my conversation with God this morning. In His perfect wisdom He asked me another question while I was fighting with myself over agreeing to His new plan.  He gently asked, How is that portion of an hour more valuable to you, with Me or your phone? It is blatantly obvious what is best for me. I surrendered and committed to change my time with Him. I even addressed my jumbled and wondering mind first thing in the morning and God graciously agreed to help redirect me back to our topic at hand if/when my mind wondered first thing in the morning. So now you understand the weight of my decision to pick up my phone this morning. I wish I had chosen differently. I chose to separate from The Vine today. I chose my phone over remaining in His love. This one decision was bad enough, but because I wasn’t connected to Him from the start today, I missed His voice later in the day when He was warning me away from another bad decision. My second poor choice of the day affected other people. My stomach was in knots while I was working over every angle of the mess in my mind to try to free myself and get out from under my choice. For about an hour, there was no way out. I was completely out of control of the situation I had created and all I could do was wait to see what the fall out would be.

Two important things:

One, God didn’t pull His love away from me even though I sinned and chose to separate from Him this morning. He still spoke to me, still tried to slow me down and give me time to think through my decision before I sinned a second time.  Because I pulled away from Him first thing this morning, I wasn’t connected later and blew right by His gracious warning. I landed myself in a mess because I didn’t pay attention to my Vine’s voice.

Two, My joy was gone for the entire morning! I experienced the polar opposite of joy; worry, frustration, fear, and dread. I was overflowing with stomach acid instead of joy. Jesus was really clear in Vs 9-11 that our joy is connected to our obedience to His commands and I was sitting in the middle of a perfect life lesson for this truth.

 

I do not deserve the resolution that God provided me this morning. He managed things in a way that only He could and He kept the damages minimal. Again, God out-loved me. He is the true vine and remains in me when I remain in Him..and even sometimes when I don’t. I’m in awe today of Love so full, so rich, so complete, so selfless, so forgiving and so personal!

In my Father’s House are Many Mansions

Today’s reading is John 14

My 5 year old son, Samuel, asks a million questions a day (at least it seems like a million!). Recently, he asks a lot of questions about heaven. What it looks like, who is there, what people do in heaven, etc. Inevitably the conversations eventually turn to the topic of losing someone, and he makes declarations that he doesn’t want to die and doesn’t want me or anyone else in our family to die. These kind of conversations are challenging – especially with a 5 year old child – but also with mature adults. God has given us so many things on earth to love and cherish that our finite minds have difficulty comprehending the eternity of heaven.

Growing up, I went every Memorial Day with my dad to the cemetery on the edge of town. Many of his loved ones were buried there. His father (who died in his forties), his sister (who died when she was 4 days old), his grandparents, and many more. We would tidy up the areas around their headstones and leave flowers. But the best part of the trip was that my dad talked about them. He told stories about their lives and made me feel like I knew them, although I had never met any of them. And always he spoke of their love for God. He would remind me that while we didn’t get to be with them now, that because they were in heaven with God we would all someday rejoice together for eternity.

As Christians, the concept of eternity is one of the most important things that separates us from non-believers. Death and what comes after should not be frightful for us. In fact, everything we do should be centered around the eventuality of reaching heaven and praying that everyone we know and love will be there too.

I am thankful not only for the memories made all those years ago with my dad, but for the way he was able to bring faith to life about what happens after death. Hopefully the talks that Samuel and I have about heaven will leave him at peace about the concept of mortality and eternity, both of which he is just beginning to grasp.

I am so thankful for the words of Jesus, which are not only comforting, but (to me anyway:) ) exciting as well:

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.” John 14:1-4

Tested, Proven, Perfected

I am fully enthralled with the story of Peter’s denial.  Today, in Mark 14, we see both the warning that Jesus gives him and Peter’s vehement denial.  These two statements are extreme opposites.  In verse 31, Peter  “said emphatically, If I must die with you, I will not deny you.’”  Contrast that statement with verse 71 where Peter  “invokes a curse on himself and swears, I do not know this man of whom you speak.”  How could Peter so fully believe that he would follow Jesus, at all cost, and, at the same time invoke a curse on himself trying to denounce him?  Clearly, Peter did not understand what he was capable of.  Are we all so fallible?  If so, how do I know what I really believe?
The answer, unfortunately, is that we don’t know.  Seriously, until our beliefs are put to the test, we do not know how we will respond.  My fear, of course, is that I will fail as Peter did.  But why?  Why do I fear failing when, failure is the very thing that leads to success.? That was certainly true for Peter.  After failing the test, Peter broke down and cried.  In that moment, Peter knew himself better than he ever had.  More importantly, he came face to face with the gulf between who he was and who God created him to be.  He fully understood that if he was to be whole again, he would need God to make him so.  I can only imagine how difficult the next few days were for Peter.  Jesus was dead, and he failed.  What hope was there?

God leads into the dark night those whom He desires to purify from all these imperfections so that He may bring them farther onward. ~Saint John of the Cross

I am sure that through this test,  God planned to help Peter become who he was created to be.  Throughout the test, Peter was 100% responsible for his response.  He got to choose what was next.  In the end, Peter could not deny the changes that Jesus had made in his heart.  He was a different man.  While his heart may have reflected sorrow and shame, he was not far from worship.  It shows in his excitement to be reunited with Jesus in John 21:8.  It was this contrition of heart that led him to a full victory in John 21:15-20.

As I learn about Peter in this passage,  I find myself reflecting on how God has and is testing my faith.  I can see times of failure and, like Peter, experienced a dark night of the soul.  Maybe you are experiencing a test of faith right now. I am comforted to know that victory is ours if we choose it.  We choose it by acknowledging that Jesus is our savior and our Lord.  When we do, He promises that we will become “perfect and complete, lacking nothing” (James 1:4).  That is who God created us to be.

Diamonds, Hawk Nelson

Saint John of the Cross. The Dark Night of the Soul (annotated) (Kindle Location 151). Kindle Edition.

Be On Guard

Last weekend, my husband and I discovered a beautiful trail outside of Nashville, at Percy Warner Park. The trail is called Mossy Ridge Trail, and it lives up to its name, with elevation changes, streams and mini waterfalls, and lots of moss covered limestone.

We followed the map of the 4.5 mile loop, the first day running it counter clockwise and having more of the steep climbs during the ascension. Temperatures were climbing up in the 80s and we were thankful for the forested shade during most of the trail. So much to see as we were running up and down, over and back, across the rocks, logs, and tree roots. It’s easy to get lost in your thoughts and prayers when you’re out in the middle of nowhere surrounded by such natural beauty. We had about 3/4 of a mile left when Tim warns “SNAKE”.

I freeze and see where he is pointing and back up a bit. Wow, he’s a big one! We guessed between 4-5 ft long, but it was hard to tell because he was so curled up. He looked mostly black and of course I asked Tim to dig his phone out and snap some pics of him (her?) so we could later identify him. There were some markings, but not as much as a bull snake usually has… so maybe he is a rat snake. He wasn’t in a hurry to move from the middle of the trail… so with a stick I was able to get him to slither off into the woods so I could pass.

The rest of the run, my eyes were much more wide open, my senses were more alert, and I was definitely looking for the next creature we may encounter. While I don’t have a huge snake phobia, I also don’t love their slithering sneaky creepy ways. Yuck! We live in the country and they are good for mice – I just prefer them to be out of sight in the woods 🙂

The next day we went back for another trail run, and it’s really cool how the opposite direction of the exact same trail can feel different. The climbs are from the opposite direction, the slick downhills are now easier to get up, and while it’s familiar from the day before, it has a newness to it when you experience it from a new vantage point. We are a mile in and I happen to be leading this section (we alternate) and it’s my turn to warn “SNAKE”. Same coloring, but not as big. Again, this guy came out of nowhere and was hard to see at first. He was half in the grassy edge and half on the trail – looking SO SIMILAR to the tree roots around him that were also sprawled across the trail. As soon as he heard me he darted off, and we went on our way.

The next couple of miles I thought about snakes. What makes them creepy, how camouflaged they can be to their surroundings, what they’re good for, why they freak us out, etc. I kept my eyes peeled the rest of the run looking out for more snakes. I was much more alert after seeing this second snake on the second day, than after the first snake on the first day. Every tree root sprawling across the path was the next snake 🙂

If snakes give you the heebie jeebies and freak you out, I am sorry!! I will get us to the scripture (stay with me).  In Mark 13, we find Jesus explaining to his disciples about end times and his return. One thing that really stands out to me is there are five different times that Jesus warns them to stay alert and be on guard (verses 5, 9, 26):

See that no one leads you astray, many will come in my name…And then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, But be on guard.

After studying this chapter, I couldn’t help but think about our snake encounter, and how we almost ran right into him the first time, not expecting it. We ARE in the woods. We ARE in this snake’s home. Why was it a surprise? And Day Two? Don’t you think I would have been extra aware? But once again I’m running along, taking in the sights, and this snake looked so much like a dark tree root that I almost missed him. These snakes are no dummies… they know how to get a meal, and it’s not with a big flashing sign saying “SNAKE RIGHT HERE”… they’re trying to creep up on their lunch with the art of surprise. And while I know this about snakes, both times I was caught off guard.

The disciples were asking Jesus for a big sign of when these end days of tribulation will come. But Jesus tells them that no one knows the hour of when, but to stay alert and be on guard. He tells them how they will be persecuted and how to handle it. He tells them how there will be false prophets claiming to be coming in Jesus’ name and to not be fooled.

Who me? Fooled by a false prophet? After Jesus specifically warns me? Surely not!

Hello self, you just ran right into a snake, the day after encountering a snake in the same location. Ummm…

Leading up to this journal entry I’ve been praying for the Holy Spirit to show me false prophets in my life. Specifically, I’ve asked for a spirit of discernment of people, books, pastors, groups, studies, etc, all claiming to be in the name of Christ, but are deceiving and not aligned with the Lord. I need to be more aware, alert, on guard and ready! False prophets aren’t going to be easy to spot, they will be one tiny detail away from truth… or one shade off of white. False prophets will normalize sin, justify the unjust, and try to rationalize the irrational. If they were obvious to see and recognize, Jesus wouldn’t give such a strong warning.

Like I’ve said in many of my posts – I CAN’T WAIT for heaven!! Wonder if there will be snakes there?

Interview II

The enlightenment continues through the interviewing process.

The core values of our company are spectacular. It would have been thrilling to be in the room when the countless ideas finally came together as a complete set of succinct values in written form. They are:

  • Passionate About Winning
  • Team Play with Trust
  • Honesty – Integrity – Candor
  • Caring About People
  • Positive Attitude

As a leader in the company, part of my job is not only to live the core values but teach and instill them in others, and assess job candidates and vendors for their “fit” within the organization.

I recently shared the core values with a candidate and asked him to tell me his thoughts on how he will embrace them if he joins our team. His response (paraphrased):

“I always have tried to apply what my father taught me: Manage people as you would like people to manage you.”

Simple yet eloquent, aligning with the words of Jesus, stating the second greatest commandment:

The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (Mark 12:31a)

Today’s reading: Mark 12

In another conversation with a vendor candidate, I verbalized one of our core values “caring about people”. The leader from this vendor literally said “we care about people… more or less”, as if to say they don’t really care about people. I about fell out of my chair! On one hand I felt sorry for these people and anyone associated with them, and on the other hand I thought, thank you for making my job easier… you are dismissed.

Caring about people is not just a good corporate slogan, it is a command, second only to one other:

Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ (Mark 12:29-30)

Through His miraculous and mysterious ways, God seeks relationship with us. He puts people in our lives and allows us to enter situations where people knowingly or unknowingly speak his truth (such as loving others). He gives us his commands not to restrict us but to enrich our souls here and for eternity, because he loves us.

And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” (Mark 12:34a)

Father God, will you guide us today to respond wisely to your commands and your will? Grant us wisdom to understand and courage to respond so that we too can be not far from your kingdom. Reveal our sins that cloud our judgement; forgive us in the name of Jesus. Renew our hearts and spirits to set aside our selfishness and seek you first today. Amen.

Faith in Action

Today’s reading:  Mark 11

The setting for today’s scripture is Jerusalem and surrounding towns (Bethphage and Bethany) about five days before Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion.  Mark 11 begins with the account of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.  According to verse 11 Jesus entered the city to the praises of many people, then made his way to the temple courts and took notice of what was going on.  Since it was late, he continued on about 1.5 miles to the east to stay in Bethany with his disciples for the night.

 

Do you ever get home from a long day at work to find a mess that needs to be cleaned up, misbehaving children that need to be set straight, or an issue that needs to be resolved?  Do you ever think to yourself, “I can’t handle this right now, I’m going to bed and will deal with it in the morning”?  I sure have.  I find that things seldom look as hopeless in the light of the morning as they look in the dark of night.  And, I almost always have more patience to deal with them in the morning than I do at night when I’m tired.

I think that might be what happened here.  Because Jesus was fully human and fully God, the Bible tells us he experienced all the same emotions we do.  Knowing the horror he was going to experience at the hands of the same people who were praising him as he entered the city may have disgusted him.  The betrayal of a close friend, much less the anticipation of the physical pain and agony that awaited him, were also probably weighing heavy on his heart and mind.  Rather than busting into the temple and driving out the money-changers right away, he may have decided to just to head to Bethany for the night and deal with the situation in the morning.

The next morning as Jesus was headed from Bethany back to the temple, do you notice how he sneaks in a little object lesson for his disciples?  Mark 11:12 tells us Jesus was hungry and went to see if the nearby fig tree had any fruit he could eat.  Fig trees normally produce fruit two times per year, one in the early spring when the leaves fill out and the other in the fall.  It was springtime and the tree looked promising because it was full of leaves, but when Jesus took a closer look he realized it had no fruit.  He said to it, “may no one eat fruit from you ever again” (Mark 11:14).  I don’t think Jesus cursed the tree because he was hangry (slang for being irritable as a result of hunger) like I would have done.  He did this to teach the disciples a lesson.  Until I studied this passage more closely this week, I always thought the story about the fig tree was a little was random.  I never connected the dots between it and Jesus cleansing the temple.  Now I know.  Not only are these stories linked, but the fig tree encounter only happened so Jesus’ disciples could better understand Jesus’ disdain for the commerce taking in place in God’s house.

 

After leaving the fig tree, Jesus and his disciples went to the temple to deal with the mess they had walked away from the night before.  What they found was religious leaders who had found a way to make money off those who were upholding Mosaic Law by selling them the animals they needed for making sacrifices in the temple.  In fact many scholars believe the religious leaders’ practices were so egregious they could have been considered extortion.  Like the fig tree, the temple looked promising because it was full of “religious” people acting in way that appeared to be holy.  Unfortunately, their hearts were far from God and their actions were completely void of reverence for anyone but themselves.  Jesus cursed the practices of the merchants and drove them out of the temple.

When Jesus and his disciples left the temple and headed back to Bethany, they came upon the fig tree that had withered away in the short time they were gone.  Jesus’ message to his disciples was clear – the Kingdom of Heaven has no use for “religion” without substance.  Anyone who claims to have faith without putting it to work in their life is like the fruitless fig tree and religious leaders in this story – dead, useless to God.

 

Do you know anyone who wants to be useless?  I don’t.  Most everyone I know desires to live each day with some kind of purpose and meaning.  Genuine faith in God gives our lives potential for great purpose and meaning if we put our faith to work for the kingdom of God.

Mark 10

Today’s reading is Mark 10.

Jesus is walking and teaching. In reading through this chapter I catch myself putting my human emotions and frustrations on Jesus. Everywhere he goes people are following him and waiting to hear him speak. The Pharisees are always trying to trip him up like they did with their question about divorce. Then he has to explain to the rich young man that he must sell everything and follow Him to gain eternal life and the guy basically said no and “went sadly away”. The disciples never quite “get it” either and Jesus spends extra time explaining that He will die and rise again. They also struggle with selfishness and Jesus has to stop and teach them about being a servant and how to be the “least” among them. It sounds a lot like parenting to me and I get exhausted for Jesus. But He never got exhausted.  He knew the road he was walking and all the conversations, healings, and confrontations were important. They were all  leading Him towards the goal of providing salvation for the world. He never got annoyed with the questions or frustrated with their lack of understanding or knowledge. He kept on teaching and healing and loving.

In the midst of the teaching, training, and healing Jesus stopped to bless the children. In verses 13-16 parents were  bringing their children to Jesus for blessing and the disciples tried to keep them away. Jesus said “Let the little children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I assure you, anyone who doesn’t have their kind of faith will never get into the Kingdom of God”. Then he took the children into his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them.

These children were not asking difficult questions about theology or dealing with adult attitudes. Their parents told them about Jesus and they were thrilled to go see him. They knew he was doing miracles and they were listening to all the talk around town about him. They had no questions about stepping into his arms and receiving his blessing. And Jesus was happy to give it. Pure joy. Faith.

I pray this prayer over my kids at night, that God would lay His hand of blessing on their heads. This is a reminder to me that He has a path for their lives that I do not control. It reminds me that the blessing of God is bigger than the sports they play, the grades they get, or the school they go to. There is an eternal perspective that far surpasses anything of this world. And I pray that they would know the blessing of God so when they face persecution for their faith they will continue to stand by it.

I pray this for you today too. That God would lay his hand of blessing on your head and you would receive it in faith. That your faith would be like a child and you would be able to accept all that Jesus has done for you on the cross.

Shelly

Mission Improbable

  1. After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.

The heading for for today’s bible journal is called Mission Improbable, at first when I thought about this heading I needed to remind myself of these two words.  The definition of mission is: the calling of a religious organization, especially a Christian one, to go out into the world and spread its faith.  The definition for improbable is: not likely to be true or to happen. 

What makes this mission improbable?

As we read the Lord sending out the 70 or 72 (depending on the version you read) why would it be so improbable? Then I read verse 2-3, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 

Looking back at Luke 9, Jesus had just sent out His 12 disciples.  Now, those who had seen, heard, and believed in Jesus were willing to go into the harvest field.  The 72 were appointed by Jesus, given instructions, and sent out in pairs.

Consider these questions.

  • Where and who has God purposely placed in your  life today to be on mission?
  • What faithful role does God wants me to have in His work? (not my work)
  • Am I doing all I can for the harvest, or am I just watching?

As you reflect on those questions today be encouraged by these points.

  1. The harvest is great: We do the work knowing how important and big it is.  God’s Kingdom!

29 For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me. Colossians 1:29 

2. The laborers are few: We do the work knowing that we have a key job. This job involves the opportunity today to possibly leading someone to a glorious Kingdom in contrast to destiny in hell separated from our God. Don’t try to do it all alone.  Be in community. Talk with a brother or sister in Christ about the opportunity you have to speak life into someone else.

“Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor, for if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up.” (Eccl 4:9-10)

3. Pray the Lord of the harvest: We do the work with a lot of prayer.  Our job is to pray, pray for these opportunities. Pray for in your conversations and interactions with others.  Pray to help equip others.  Honestly, I can sit and be a spectators at times.  Except,  Jesus has called us to be laborers. I have to be willing at all times to have conversations as well.

 

4. Go your way:I am sending you, like lambs among wolves: We do the work making ourselves vulnerable. We will be met by opposition. This dangerous mission requires sincere commitment. Let God be our strength today and every day. .

Charles Wesley wrote Lord of the Harvest, Hear. in 1742

LORD of the harvest, hear
Thy needy servants’ cry;”
Answer our faith’s effectual prayer,
And all our wants supply.

On Thee we humbly wait;”
Our wants are in Thy view;
The harvest truly, Lord is great,
The laborers are few.

Convert, and send forth more
Into Thy Church abroad,
And let them speak Thy Word of power,
As workers with their God.

Give the pure Gospel word,
The word of general grace;
Thee let them preach, the common Lord,
Savior of human race.

O let them spread Thy Name,
Their mission fully prove,
Thy universal grace proclaim,
Thine all redeeming love!

On all mankind, forgiven,
Empower them still to call,
And tell each creature under Heaven
That Thou hast died for all.

 

The picture I shared is a sign I drive by daily.  Jesus prepared the 12, He prepared the 72, He is preparing you.  Today, as you go to work, go to school, stay at home, go to practice,… you are one mission, and God has equipped you.

Faith University

Todays Reading : Mark 9

 

While preparing and researching for the blog today, I came across several headings and overall topics.  The heading that I found most interesting was “Slow Learners”. I think that this is intriguing because in the grand scheme of things we collectively are perpetual learners and sometimes others grasp ideas faster than others.  From the beginning of our journey from birth until we pass away we are learning in this Faith University.  Currently we are in the midst of graduation season, which makes me reminiscence of undergrad and graduate school.

The formal ceremony that the graduates attended is called Commencement.  It is the beginning of their journey with this newfound knowledge and confidence. Many will go into the world and succeed without question, yet there are many who continue to have life lessons that will allow them to continue to grow and mature.  The latter set understands that the process that started them at the beginning is not finite, yet a continual process.  These individuals see that the process might be slow, but the reward is great.

One particular time that I remember very well in undergrad as a Slow Learner is Organic Chemistry II.  This was a class that was required for my degree program. I enjoyed the class, but the lab session always created new adventures in learning.  Many of the labs were multi-week labs.  So you would start a certain portion of the lab, allow it to mature, then on the returning week the completion of the lab is finished and your results would be recorded.  Almost 90% of the time, my second week lab had some type of mishap that would happen and I would have to stay several hours later to complete the lab.  The only saving grace that made me smile during these weeks was the final product would be correct and the yield within the required range.

In Mark Chapter 9, Jesus is continually teaching his disciples some of the most important aspects of the journey in this Faith University.

  • Take time to experience the presence of God without questions, concerns, or haste.
    • In Mark 9 : 2-6 : 2 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them,3 and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one[a] on earth could bleach them.4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.5 And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi,[b] it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified.
    • God does not need our outward show of grandeur or pomp; he just wants to share time with us. Sometimes He gives us a glimpse of Glory.
  • Remember in all things enter any situation with prayer.
    • Mark 9:27 -29  27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. 28 And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” 29 And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”[e]
    • After several of years with Christ the disciples had forgotten the basis of all the lessons: prayer. They had been given the Spirit to heal and cast out demons, but they had forgotten that the communication and relationship with God is the true power of the process.  It is more about the communication and relationship than the results.
  • Open your mind to the different ways God will bless you.
    • Mark 9: 38-4138 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name,[f]and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 40 For the one who is not against us is for us.41 For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.
    • Sometimes we forget that God chooses to bless us in the most amazing and uncommon ways. Let us pray that we allow God to open our eyes and soften our hearts to receive the blessings He has for us no matter how they are given to us.

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for allowing us to have this journey in this Faith University and continue to teach and strengthen us daily.  God, thank you for being the Master teacher and mentor who will guide us through every possible hurdle with love and compassion.