In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, The gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, We're sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.EPHESIANS 1:13 I say it here again, once and for all, that you should understand the Gospel as nothing other than the divine promise of His grace and the forgiveness of sins. For that is why it happened that previously Paul's Epistles were not understood and could not be understood, because they did not know what the Law and the Gospel really mean. For they regarded Christ to be a lawmaker, and the Gospel a mere doctrine of the new laws. That is nothing else than locking up the Gospel and concealing all things. The word "Gospel" [Evangelium] is Greek and signifies "joyous news," because it proclaims the wholesome doctrine of life by divine promise and offers grace and forgiveness of sin. Therefore, works do not belong to the Gospel, for it is not Law; rather, only faith [belongs to the Gospel], for it is altogether a promise and an offer of divine grace. Whoever now believes the Gospel received grace and the Holy Spirit. This causes the heart to rejoice and find delight in God, and [the heart] then keeps the Law voluntarily, gratuitously, without fear of punishment, without seeking reward since the heart is perfectly satisfied with God's grace, by which the Law has been fulfilled. Excerpt from 365 Day Devotional Readings from Martin Luther Day by Day, August 9
Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. JAMES 4:17
Just do the right thing! I used to say to my kids: "If you knew is was wrong, why did you do it?" To this question, there was never a satisfactory answer. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. JAMES 3:18 How often are we tempted to want our own way and do what we need to do in order to get it. We see it in toddlers, who whine and cry and sometimes throw tantrums in order to get their own way. We see it in adults who manipulate, cheat or bully in order to get their own way. Neither of these scenarios are pleasant to experience and certainly don't promote peace.
We have an expectation for what we want, or how we want something to be, and will do whatever it takes to be fulfilled. When focusing on ourselves, and only our desires, it is almost impossible to focus on the good for all concerned.
We live in a battle every day... a battle between good and evil, between our desires and God's desires. In his letter to the Romans, St. Paul calls us to wake up and be awesome every day! Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will.ROMANS 12:2
If we want to wake up and be awesome,
we choose to be wise, do good, to care for all around us,
and seek the LORD's wisdom to guide our day:
But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. JAMES 4:17
Hearing the voice of the LORD is one thing; obeying the voice of the LORD is another. I've been reading Jeremiah and there is a clear message that the Lord is speaking and the people aren't listening. He's longing for them to listen. The LORD isn't a tyrant of a master, He is a caring shepherd and loving Father who always desires the best for his children. He wants people to have healthy relationships, meaningful work, abundance in provision, healthy bodies, and to care about their communities and the people in them. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat met. For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices. But this is what I commanded them, saying 'Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.'JEREMIAH 7:21-23 When Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment, he replied:
“The most important one is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” MARK 12:29-31
It was the same command that the LORD had give to the Israelites as they were entering the promised land:
These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.DEUTERONOMY 6:1-9
The LORD knows that we have temptations and distractions all around.
He calls us back to focus on His good things, SO THAT it may be well with us.
Take time to listen, and obey, so that it may be well with you!
Do you rest from work, or work from rest? I had always thought about rest as a necessary part of recouping from work, but I hadn't really thought about what working from a place of rest might be...
Rest from Work
and
Work from Rest
God's way is to have a rhythm of Work and Rest. Rest is not merely intended to be solely a means of regenerating from the activity of work; the rest God desires for people is twofold: 1) a time to enjoy the fruit of our labors, and 2) a time set aside to be intentional about enjoying our relationship with the creator. To extend grace, enjoy this day, be present, breathe deeply, show gratitude, live with intention, be fearless and try new things - requires some space... first to be present with God in preparation to be present for others.
When living in a state of busyness or hurry, these things are difficult, if not impossible.
God had liberated his people from slavery in Egypt, and he is tying sabbath rest as freedom from slavery. “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, so that your male and female servants may rest, as you do. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day. DEUTERONOMY 5:12-15 I can hear God saying "Come, spend time with me, I rescued you and I love you." And more than that, by spending time with me, you'll approach your work being mindful of my goodness, regardless of the circumstances. Someone once asked, "what is your satisfaction level with God?" Really??? How satisfied am I with God? The question really impacted me and continues to years later! When we are running from activity to activity, work is pressing, family is pressing, the routines of daily living are pressing, where do we have margin? What space is available to just be? To breathe? To enjoy? To truly rest!
Sabbath rest isn't another task,
it's an invitation to enjoy!
Our Lord invites us to rest. We don't have to be slaves to work. God may be reminding us that anyone who cannot rest from their work is really a slave... that's a new and hard thought! God rested and demonstrates for us that there is time to enjoy the fruit of our labors. Tim Keller writes about three types of rest:
Contemplative rest - Prayer and worship are a critical part of Sabbath rest, from any perspective. Regular time for devotion, reading the Scripture, and listening to God forms the basis for inner rest and provides time away from the more exhausting exertions of life.
Recreational rest - Re-Creation... Find recreation that doesn't exhaust and really refreshes.
Aesthetic rest - Expose yourself to works of God’s creation that refresh and energize you, and that you find beautiful. This may mean outdoor things. It may mean art—music, drama, and visual art. God looked around at the world he made and said it was good, so aesthetic rest is necessary for participating in God’s Sabbath fully.
My prayer for you is that you find enjoyment in your Sabbath rest that flows into your work! Let me know how it's going for you...
Maundy Thursday. The night of the Last Supper. Don't miss the point!
Jesus and his disciples share the Passover Meal together. In recent days, Jesus has been talking about his death more frequently and I can just imagine the disciples confusion over the dinner conversation. After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.LUKE 22:17-20
Bread and Wine, Jesus body and blood. He's been trying to help them understand, but this is really beyond their realm of experience and understanding. This Holy One of God, so good, so kind, so wise... How could what he is saying be true? Then in what seems like the same breath, Jesus makes the statement that someone at the table will be the one to betray him. The disciples begin to question themselves, wondering who it might be... Then, in the next moment, they are arguing about who among them is the greatest! Tonight, I'm trying to put myself in the midst of the scene. I've been traveling with Jesus, he's been talking about these things, yet they are really beyond my full comprehension. The evening moves from a sacred meal, to an accusation, to confusion, to quarreling, and then... The Savior of the World picked up a towel and demonstrated his love for his disciples by washing their feet. Jesus words and actions speak wisdom and truth!
Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.John 13:3-5 But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.LUKE 22:26-27
Maundy, shortened form of the Latin, mandatum
(from which we get the English word, mandate).
In the Upper Room, on the night he was betrayed,
THIS is the mandate:
Serve one another, as I have served you.
Love one another, even as I have loved you.
And then Jesus says:
And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.LUKE 22:29-30
Jesus Spoke the Word,
Showed the Word,
Taught the Word, and
Served those in front of Him.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. JOHN 1:14
Jesus conferred on them a Kingdom of love.
He brought this kingdom to their feet.
He humbled himself and lovingly served.
We can think of this night and remember betrayal, a night of agony as Jesus prays. Don't miss the point... Jesus has conferred on those who love Him a Kingdom of Love. Jesus clearly says, it's not about power and position, it's about love.
Be humble, serve people in love, and give them heaven!
HOPE It's a powerful driver! The HOPE of something better leads people to hurdle incredible challenges... and the lack of HOPE can drive another to despair. Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. HEBREWS 11:1 Hope that comes from faith is far beyond wishful thinking. This kind of hope is grounded in the assurance of the redeeming work of God through the finished work of Jesus, the Messiah. In this season of Advent, we wait for the birth of this Christ child, the one promised and hoped for. Hope grounded in faith looks to the ONE that always keeps his promises. Looking back, we can see promises fulfilled. Looking forward, knowing the faithfulness of God in the past, we can trust that He will be faithful in the years to come. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. JOHN 1:1-2, 14
There is great mystery in the work of God.
Faith stands in the gap between fact and doubt. We wonder, we question, and we doubt. Some reject. The goodness and faithfulness of God calls people to hope.
Jesus said I am the way, the truth and the life... and He calls us to follow Him. Human beings don't do this perfectly, we make mistakes and are frequent in our failings. However, we can look to the ONE who walked this same journey of life and did it perfectly. All of human history points to the resurrection. It is through this sole moment in time that faith pivots. So in this week of Advent, the week of Hope, we have the opportunity to focus on what truly brings hope. Hillsong wrote and produced a beautiful song. Take a moment and look to the Hope of the World, Jesus.
My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus blood and righteousness I dare not trust the sweetest frame But wholly trust in Jesus name My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus blood and righteousness I dare not trust the sweetest frame But wholly trust in Jesus name Christ alone; cornerstone Weak made strong; in the Saviour's love Through the storm, He is Lord Lord of all When Darkness seems to hide His face I rest on His unchanging grace In every high and stormy gale My anchor holds within the veil My anchor holds within the veil Christ alone; cornerstone Weak made strong; in the Saviour's love Through the storm, He is Lord Lord of all He is Lord Lord of all Christ alone Christ alone; cornerstone Weak made strong; in the Saviour's love Through the storm, He is Lord Lord of all Christ alone; cornerstone Weak made strong; in the Saviour's love Through the storm, He is Lord Lord of all When He shall come with trumpet sound, Oh, may I then in Him be found; Dressed in His righteousness alone,
For the last two weeks I've set up camp and pondered these two verses: And with many such parables He spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it. But without a parable He did not speak to them.
And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples. MARK 4:33-34 Jesus, God himself, knew the enormity of God's Kingdom. Following Jesus through the Gospels, we find him sharing glimpses of this Kingdom in what he said and did...
He healed the sick, raised the dead, restored sight, hearing, and physical infirmities...
He spoke forgiveness...
He taught about living in such a way that relationships with God, self, others, and creation are always honored...
As Jesus journeyed through life, he shared illustrations and stories that gave people glimpses of God and His kingdom...
A kingdom where love reigns! A kingdom where relationships are never compromised! A kingdom that has more beauty and abundance than humankind can fully imagine!
Journeying through life, there is evidence of God's Kingdom all around!
"The kingdom of God is like…” - a man who sowed good seed in his field. Matthew 13:24 (it’ is good)
- a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field Matthew 13:31 (it starts small and grows)
- yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of yeast until it worked all through the dough Matthew 13:33 (a little bit can make a big difference)
- treasure hidden in a field Matthew 13:44 (it is very important and should be protected)
- a merchant looking for fine pearls Matthew 13:45 (it is precious and worth a great price)
- a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish Matthew 13:47 (it is filled with variety and produces in abundance)
- the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old Matthew 13:52 (everything has value)
- a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants Matthew 18:23 (it is filled with integrity)
- a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard Matthew 20:1 (there is lot of work to be done)
- a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son Matthew 22:2 (in it there is joyful celebration)
Jesus is providing small glimpses of what a life with God is like.
He's inviting you in...
Do you see it?
Does it make you wonder?
Come in,
sit down with Jesus,
let His Word, and the people who follow Him, explain what he means!
Walking along the beach on a beautiful sunny morning, the Words of God that ran through my mind were
"more numerous than the sand on the seashore."
I paused... looked in front and behind me. The beach stretched as far as I could see in both directions and I began to imagine all the beaches that I have visited. It's quite an illustration to think about anything being more numerous than the grains of sand on the seashore.
Grains of sand... each so tiny... so many!
I think of God's promises to Abraham. Still childless at the age of 75, the Lord challenged Abraham to count the number of stars in the sky and promising that his heirs would be more numerous than that! It took another twenty-five years later before Isaac, the son of promise, was born. It's a long story of promises, faith, obedience, disobedience, forgiveness and restoration. He left his country to go to a strange land, there were family conflicts that resulted in separation, there was adultery and abandonment.
It's messy!
There was failure!
Walking with God is a journey!
Many years later in the New Testament, Paul writes:
We walk by faith and not by sight. 2 CORINTHIANS 5:7
Sometimes the journey is filled with joy and at other times sorrow.
Sometimes the steps are clear and at other times it's like groping in the dark.
It's not that God's not clear, it's that our human understanding is clouded.
That may sound trite... But, it's true. I have met some brilliant people, but none compare to the one who spoke creation into being! It's hard to imagine that such a vast and complex universe that works with such precision and order could have been formed without intelligent design.
God is constantly at work on our behalf, seeking to redeem and restore humanity.
He can't bless sin, but he does bless obedience!
Here, we come to the point where the Lord is testing Abraham: The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”GENESIS 22:15-18
The blessing follows obedience!
Abraham now had enough experience with God to know that He always kept his promises and this encouraged Abraham's obedience when God spoke.
Where is God calling you to believe him and trust him?
It may be in believing that He is who he says he is. It may be in other steps of faith. Abraham waited 25 years for the first step of God's promise to come to fulfillment. As for the grains of sand, they are still being formed as one by one, people around the globe believe God at His word and act accordingly.
Who will be blessed because of your obedience?
How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand— when I awake, I am still with you. PSALM 139:17-18
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. MATTHEW 7:7-8 Jesus is teaching about the Kingdom of Heaven. If we take this out of context, there are times we might wonder if God really does answer prayer. David writes in Psalm 37:
Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.PSALM 37:3-7
Jesus is saying... ASK, beg, call for, crave, desire, require that God reveal insights about His Kingdom... SEEK after these insights, searching for the less obvious deeper understanding... KNOCK, literally rap on God's door, imploring him to share his thoughts and wisdom...
Jesus is saying that absolutely everyone who earnestly asks, seeks, and knocks
will discover God himself and His wisdom.
Will everyone receive the answer they are hoping for when asking about their own desires? While we may hope for this, and sometimes conclude that God isn't answering if it doesn't come through just so... the opportunity is there to gain deeper understanding. Whenever it's difficult to make sense of circumstances, I look to Jesus. On the night before his crucifixion, he instructed the disciples: Pray, that you will not fall into temptation. Then he moved about a stone's throw away, knelt down and prayed. "Father, if you are willing, take this cup of suffering from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." LUKE 22:42 We know this prayer was answered. The cup of suffering was not removed, and yet God's will was done. Jesus fulfilled the work he came to do. He fulfilled God's will perfectly. It is much easier when God's will aligns with ours, and much more difficult when our desires aren't aligning with what's happening... And so I pray: Good and gracious Lord, your ways are not our ways. You tell us that we do not have because we have not asked. Especially when it is difficult, when in times of trouble or tragedy or disaster, may we A.S.K. you first. May we pray for your wisdom, to see how your will continues to be fulfilled, particularly when the immediate circumstances may not seem that way. As we pray, may we seek where and how you might call us to be in it. We give thanks for your longsuffering-patience and your everlasting faithfulness and your love that extends through eternity. We pray this in Jesus name, AMEN.
“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” JOHN 4:13-14
Welling up... Leaping forth...
Gushing!
A person can only go about 3 days without water before dehydration begins to set in.
Jesus speaks of himself as living water that quenches the soul and springs forth without limit.
For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.JOHN 3:34
This water nourishes us with the pure love of God.
Are you drinking some every day?
Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” JOHN 7:37-38
Nutrition fuels our bodies so that they function well.
Ask any marathon runner or triathlete about nutrition. While reading the training journal of a friend, I was struck by the reference to the word "nutrition." He was reflecting on strategy for a particular race and writes:
"talked to a coach who told me
it took him 7 races to really dial in his nutrition..."
In the race of life, how carefully are we paying attention to spiritual nutrition? Life can be challenging! If we look upon it like a marathon, what is in our daily training schedule that is equipping us for the race every single day?
What are you doing to dial into the spiritual nutrition
that will sustain you in all of life's circumstances?
Knowing Jesus was the Son of God, the devil tempted him in the wilderness after Jesus had fasted 40 days and 40 nights and was hungry. In times of trial and challenge and rejoicing, Jesus drew from God's words, recorded in the Torah, the Psalms, and the Prophets.
The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’
When we know the Word of God, it speaks to us, helping to make sense of life.
Be still and know that I am God. PSALM 46:10
For the Word of God is living and active HEBREWS 4:12
Take time every day to feed your body and soul with the Word of God!
When praying for someone, with them, I often hear these words: "Thank you for your prayers." For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.
ROMANS 10:16b-17
When we speak to the Lord of Creation on behalf of someone, something happens. Words in the Lutheran Liturgy come to mind: "He recalls his promises and leads his people forth in joy." How powerful it is to have someone express intercede for their burdens, or give thanks for their joy!
It is the Lord who spoke the Word
It is His People who give voice to that Word
When we pray for another, when we speak God's Words of promise, we remind or help others know of His love and faithfulness. We can't always solve someone else's problems or take their burdens from them, but we can always pray.
Mother Teresa said: "Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God."
Living in a practice of mission, Jesus style, prayer is our #1 go to conversation. Jesus lived in an intentional rhythm of prayer. Paul urges us to: Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 THESSALONIANS 5:16-18 Imagine what God could do if we actually did that!
In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, 
