SHARING BREAD²⁸ I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” Luke 7:28 (NIV)What a commendation from the lips of our Savior!  Among those born of women no one was greater than John the Baptist.  Filled with the Spirit from the womb on, John came as the messenger to prepare the way for the Lord.  I am reminded of Isaiah 40:³ A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.   Isaiah 40:3 (NIV) John came on the scene calling for all to prepare the way for the Lord by returning to a proper relationship with Him.  “Our way” has always been an issue with mankind.  Born with a bent to go our own direction (“All we like sheep have gone astray”) and wander in the wilderness of our own depravity, sadly, mankind has to be constantly reminded to make their way back to God.  Jesus reminds us that He is the Way:⁶ Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.  John 14:6 (NIV) The word rendered “way” is translated from the Greek word “Hodos” meaning a road on which one travels, a journey, a manner of life or action, custom.  As believers on this side of the cross, we also are to be preparing the way for Christ’s return. Our way should be His way and our thoughts His thoughts.  No one knows when the hour of His return will come; we only know that it is certain and that no amount of not allowing ourselves to dwell upon it will make the certainty of it go away. We too are called to get right with the Lord.  Our greatest desire should be that we are a part of the Kingdom!  I love how the Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible Lexical Aids addresses this idea: “The forceful advancing of the Kingdom of God entails the powerful works performed by Jesus and His dramatic gospel announcing the arrival of the long-awaited Messianic reign and demanding repentance and faith from all.  In keeping with the violent character of its irruption into history, those who enter it are distinguished by that same dead earnestness and lay hold of it as a highly desired prize.  Entrance into the kingdom is no small matter; it is a life and death issue and is possible only by desperate and radically serious persons who desire it at all costs.” I don’t know about you, but frankly, I am feeling a bit convicted here! I am reminded of the words of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew:
¹¹ I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ¹² From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. ¹³ For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. ¹⁴ And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. ¹⁵ He who has ears, let him hear. Matt 11:11-15 (NIV)Though no one born of women will be greater than John, Jesus tells us that the privileges of those participating in the Kingdom of God will be far greater than anything anyone could experience on this earth.  Makes living for this world a bit short sighted doesn’t it?  It certainly should give us all the impetus to not want to waste our lives by living for the here and now. “This world is our passage, not our portion.”  Matthew Henry “Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people.”  Lewis Sperry Chafer “There are no crown-wearers in heaven who were not cross-bearers here below.”  Charles Spurgeon “Tomorrow’s history has already been written.  At the name of Jesus, every knee must bow.”  Paul Kauffman What I glean from this:

• I make a foolish choice if I live for this world rather than for eternity.
• I must be prepared through the power of the Holy Spirit by “working out my salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12).
• Heaven is my treasure.

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SHARING BREAD²² So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. ²³ Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.” Luke 7:22-23 (NIV)Our verses today are the response of Jesus to the question posed by John the Baptist – “Are you the One who was to come, or should we expect someone else?”  Jesus responds to John’s disciples by giving them a brief synopsis of Isaiah 61:1-3:¹ The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, ² to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, ³ and provide for those who grieve in Zion–to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.  Isaiah 61:1-3 (NIV) Jesus wanted to remind John from first hand testimony – eyes that had seen and ears that had heard – the miraculous events that had occurred from His hand. Jesus was performing messianic miracles – miraculous deeds confirming the fact that He indeed was the Messiah.  Discouraged by his circumstances, one could hardly blame John for asking.  In our human way of thinking, Jesus appeared to be anything BUT the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.  We are told in Scripture referring to Jesus: ² He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. ³ He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. ⁴ Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. ⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.  Isaiah 53:2-5 (NIV) The Matthew Henry Commentary states:  “Christ’s education at Nazareth, His residence at Galilee, the humbleness of His family and relations, His poverty, and the disrepute of His followers – these and the like were stumbling blocks to many.  He is blessed, for he is wise, humble, and well disposed, who is not overcome by these prejudices.  It is a sign that God has blessed him, and he shall be blessed indeed, blessed in Christ.”  Christ again tells us to examine His works in John: ³⁶ ”I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the very work that the Father has given me to finish, and which I am doing, testifies that the Father has sent me.  John 5:36 (NIV)We too can have preconceived prejudices about Christ.  We have made up our minds what the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit should “look like” and “act like” and more often than not it could not be further from the truth.  We have a tendency to lean on flawed human reason rather than on the inerrant Word of God for our source.  Christ tells us: ³⁹ You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, ⁴⁰ yet you refuse to come to me to have life. John 5:39-40 (NIV) Christ came to fulfill all righteousness so that He could be the perfect sacrifice for our sins opening a way for us, through Him, to come to the Father.  “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” – no longer poor in spirit or brokenhearted; no longer in bondage to sin or blind to truth; no longer mourning or despairing but filled with gladness and praise.  Blessed are all who are reconciled to Him!  All glory due His name!   What I glean from this:·         My faith grows from the truth of God’s Word.   ⁴ “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”  Romans 15:4 (NIV)·         I must not rely on human reason but on the truth of the Scriptures.·         Blessed are those who are reconciled to God.  

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SHARING BREAD¹⁸ John’s disciples told him about all these things. Calling two of them, ¹⁹ he sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” Luke 7:18-19 (NIV)Have any of you besides me faced discouraging times?  If so, our text for today will be easy for us to relate to.  John the Baptist had had a shooting star ministry lasting for no more than a year.  Filled with the Spirit from birth and called to preach repentance and baptize the faithful, John was now finding himself in prison – alone and probably awaiting death.  He had to be discouraged.  Luke details John’s job description delivered to his father Zechariah by the angel Gabriel prior to his birth. It went as follows:¹⁴ He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, ¹⁵ for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. ¹⁶ Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous–to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”  Luke 1:13-17 (NIV) Elizabeth, John’s mother, was barren, Scripture tells us, and well along in years.  The prospect of children was null and void – enter God to the scene.  The God that delights in doing things that are too hard for us to do, blessed her womb with the “voice that would prepare the way for the Lord”.  Can you even imagine the excitement Elizabeth and Zechariah must have felt at his birth?  Don’t you know they started telling him as soon as he could have comprehended what the angel had spoken regarding his life?  I am confident he believed his ministry was to be fruitful and lengthy!  Think about it.  John was flesh and blood with all the emotions that we have.  Who knows what thoughts and dreams of use were going through his mind?  In the desert (often where we hear the clearest from God) John had received a word from the Most High.  Luke again states: ² during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. ³ He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Luke 3:2-3 (NIV) It was a go!  His time had fully come! Preaching and baptizing, people were flocking to him like white on rice!  Instant fame for this locust eating camel hair clad prophet.  Yet he properly points all fingers to Jesus.  Many were wondering in their hearts if he was the Christ – his reply: ¹⁵ The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ. ¹⁶ John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.  Luke 3:15-16 (NIV) The pinnacle of John’s brief ministry occurred with his baptizing of our Lord.  John protested the request of Jesus stating that Jesus should be baptizing him an indication that he felt unworthy for such great a task.  Yet Jesus replied: ¹⁵ Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.   Matt 3:15 (NIV) We are also told in the Gospel of John that John knew who Jesus was:³² Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. ³³ I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.” John 1:32-34 (NIV) Disillusioned and discouraged, now in prison he begins to question.  “Was I mistaken?”  “I must have been wrong!”  “Why would I be in prison – alone and facing death?”  “Why aren’t I being used in Kingdom work?”  Surely some of these thoughts had to have danced through his head (they would have mine!). So he sends forth his disciples to ask “Are you the One?”  I look at this and wonder why God would work His will out in that way?  Could it be that John had had such a great following that there could have arisen a conflict between the followers of Christ and the followers of John?  Could it be that while John’s ministry was both powerful and prosperous it was now meant to become less as Jesus’ ministry came on the scene?  I believe so.  Scripture tells us:²⁶ They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan–the one you testified about–well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.” ⁷ To this John replied, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. ²⁸ You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.’ ²⁹ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. ³⁰ He must become greater; I must become less.   John 3:26-30 (NIV) What I glean from this:

• In the circumstances of “my prison” I can become discouraged and disillusioned forgetting truth.
• Jesus desires for me to call to Him – He alone gives validation to my station.
• He must become greater, I must become less.

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SHARING BREAD¹⁶ They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” Luke 7:16 (NIV)The helpless had been helped.  A miracle had occurred and the people stood amazed.  The miraculous always attracts a crowd and draws attention.  Jesus had brought back to life this poor widow’s son and awe was apparent.  Human nature is drawn to the dramatic.  Wisely, those present see this miracle as God looking upon them with favor and mercy.Favor and mercy – who wouldn’t want God to look upon us through those lenses?  While His general favor is constantly made manifest to us in countless ways that are often regrettably taken for granted – the air that we breathe, the sun that warms us, the rain that sustains, our health, our freedoms, our ability to reason and move about and love, etc., etc. – His specific favor always draws attention, sort of a wake-up call, if you will, to God’s glory.  When He bestows specific favor, He alone receives the glory.  What man can cause the sea to part?  What man can raise the dead? What man can drive out demons?  The answer is a resounding God alone!  Favor flows from His mercy and love.What brings about God’s favor?  Many of the saints in Scripture were reported to have attained such a commendation – Abel (Genesis 4:4); Noah (Genesis 6:8); Moses (Exodus 34:9); Samuel (1 Samuel 2:26); Mary (Luke 1:28); and of course the Lord Jesus (Luke 2:52) – just to name a few.  Lives marked my obedience and devotion to God – this should be a clue for us all!  In fact God tells the Israelites in Leviticus (under the heading “Reward for Obedience”) the following:³ ”‘If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, ⁴ I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees of the field their fruit. ⁵ Your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want and live in safety in your land.  Lev 26:3-5 (NIV)⁹ ”‘I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you. ¹⁰ You will still be eating last year’s harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new. ¹¹ I will put my dwelling place among you, and I will not abhor you. ¹² I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people. ¹³ I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high. Lev 26:9-13 (NIV) A grateful heart coupled with obedience and devotion please God.  Wisdom, stated in Proverbs, can be added to that list too (under a chapter entitled “Wisdom’s Call):³⁵ For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the LORD.  ³⁶ But whoever fails to find me harms himself; all who hate me love death.”   Prov 8:35-36 (NIV) Jesus, of course, demonstrated God’s ultimate favor towards man.  In His job description, if you will, Christ quotes from the prophet Isaiah: ¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, ¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.“    Luke 4:18-19 (NIV) He came “proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favor” – and what favor indeed!  No act of mercy or favor was ever so great.  The fullness of the Godhead in bodily form sent to take upon His body all the sins of sinful man so that we could be set free from the bondage of sin that enslaves us having our sight restored and our oppression lifted being able to once again walk with God. “Jesus, Thou hast bought us, not with gold or gem, but with Thine own life blood, for Thy diadem; with Thy blessing filling each who comes to Thee, Thou hast made us willing, Thou hast made us free.  By Thy grand redemption, by Thy grace divine, we are on the Lord side- Savior, we are Thine!  By Thy call of mercy, by Thy grace divine, we are on the Lord’s side – Savior, we are Thine!”  Frances Havergal/Mo Leverett.  What I glean from this:·         I greatly desire for God to look upon me with favor.·         I greatly desire to have a grateful heart regarding God’s favor.·         I am grateful for Jesus. 

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SHARING BREAD¹² As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out–the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. ¹³ When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” Luke 7:12-13 (NIV)Bereaved, helpless and hopeless this poor widow believed she was about to bury her last chance for security.  Few had a worse plight than she, seemingly alone and unprotected.  Darkest gloom fills this scene.  Enter Jesus, the God of hope and the God of the last chance, the fat chance and the no chance!  Filled with compassion, His heart goes out to her.  Can anyone besides me relate to circumstances that are seemingly hopeless?  Take heart, the God of all comfort and hope has just as much compassion for us too!Scripture is replete with verses regarding the believer’s privilege of hope – “a favorable and confident expectation in Christ for the unseen and the future” (Vines Expository Dictionary).  Before Christ, Paul tells us, we were without hope:¹² remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.   Eph 2:12-13 (NIV)The writer of Hebrews states further: ¹ Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. ² This is what the ancients were commended for.   Heb 11:1-2 (NIV) God commends His servants who are “joyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in prayer” (Romans 12:12).  “The Lord loves the just and will not forsake His faithful ones” (Psalm 37:28).  Our confidence as Christians rests not in random chance or happenstance but on the very power of God who claims: ¹⁴ Is anything too hard for the LORD?   Gen 18:14 (NIV) The answer to that, of course, would be a resounding NO!  “For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him” (2 Chronicles 16:9).  David writes in Psalm 37: ²⁵ I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.  Psalms 37:25 (NIV) The problem with many Christians is that they do not “taste and see that the Lord is good” or they would certainly find out that “blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him” (Psalm 34:8).  Chesterton states:  “The Christian faith has not been tried and found wanting.  It has been found difficult, and left untried.”     Jesus tells us in the Gospel of John not to be surprised by the tribulations we experience in life: ³³ ”I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”   John 16:33 (NIV) “We live as those who are on a journey home; a home we know will have the lights on and the door open and our Father waiting for us when we arrive.  That means in all adversity our worship of God is joyful, our life is hopeful, our future is secure.  There is nothing we can lose on earth that can rob us of the treasures God has given us and will give us.”  John Oxenham “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.  I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.  On Christ the solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.  All other ground is sinking sand. 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.  On Christ the solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.  All other ground is sinking sand. His oath, His covenant, His blood, support me in the whelming flood.  When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my Hope and Stay.  On Christ the solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.  All other ground is sinking sand. When He shall come with trumpet sound, O may I then in Him be found!  Dressed in His righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne!  On Christ the solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.  All other ground is sinking sand.”   Edward Mote     What I glean from this:

• In Christ Jesus I have a confident hope.
• Nothing is too hard for Jesus.
• I am blessed when I take refuge in Him.

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SHARING BREAD⁶ So Jesus went with them.

     He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. ⁷ That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. Luke 7:6-7 (NIV)Faith coupled with humility amazes our Master.  This pagan Roman centurion (a commander of 100 soldiers) was unlike most of that day.  The Jewish elders appeared to think highly of him as they pleaded earnestly for his cause (verse 4) saying that he loved the Jewish nation and had built their synagogue (verse 5).  This Roman officer had a beloved, highly valued servant who had fallen ill and was about to die.  On hearing of Jesus and realizing his own inadequacy, this centurion asked the Jewish elders to approach The Healer and plead his case, asking for His healing touch towards his servant.  Our verses for today are what ensued. True humility; is it not a glistening rare jewel amidst the pasty dime store variety of the false humility of our day?  How it shines “like stars in the universe” (Philippians 2:15) manifesting the very attitude of Christ Jesus.  Scripture often deals with us on humility.  We are told:Whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart, him will I not endure.  Psalms 101:5 (NIV) ¹² Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.   Prov 18:12 (NIV)“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”   James 4:6 (NIV) ⁵ Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”   ⁶ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. ⁷ Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.   1 Peter 5:5-7 (NIV) Humility before honor; opposition to the proud in heart but grace to the humble – sounds like a no brainer to me!   You see, God battles against the proud but will bestow undeserved favor or grace towards the humble in heart.  The call for every believer is to shun pride and submit humbly to God’s authority so that He will lift us up.  The Bible Knowledge Commentary states that the “cure for conflict is a humble spirit which is rewarded by God’s unmerited favor”.  Paul tells us: ¹⁸ For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.   2 Cor 10:18 (NIV) May we always seek after the commendation of the Lord! Besides humility, this Roman centurion displayed great faith claiming a word from The Word would heal his servant.  How true, how true!  A word from Christ can calm a sea (Matthew 8:26); feed five thousand with a prayer (John 6:11); raise the dead (John 11:43-44); and whatever other need we may have!  All power, glory and might belong to Him and Him alone!  He is able to do “exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask or imagine”. The centurion realized this and gave this proclamation of faith to be told to Jesus.  God is into doing wondrous things that are too hard for us to do!  Do you want to know why?  So that we will not be tempted to rely on ourselves and so that there will be no question on Whom the glory rests!  Paul tells us: ⁸ We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. ⁹ Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. ¹⁰ He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us,   2 Cor 1:8-10 (NIV) Was Jesus pleased with this centurion?  Luke 7:9-10 tells us:  ⁹ When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” ¹⁰ Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.  Luke 7:9-10 (NIV) Sounds like a commendation to me! What I glean from this: 

• Jesus calls me to be humble.
• Jesus calls me to exercise faith in Him.
• I should make it my goal to please Christ – seeking His commendation.

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SHARING BREAD  ⁴⁶ “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? Luke 6:46 (NIV)Jesus asks of us a question that cuts to the core.  Why do you say that I am Lord, He asks, yet not obey me?    This is particularly poignant in light of the meaning of the word translated “Lord”.  It is from the Greek word “Kyrios” meaning, might, power, Lord, master, owner; God.  If He is our Master, our Owner, our God, shouldn’t obedience to Him be our paramount concern?  Couple that with the fact that God is our loving Creator who has our best interest at heart.  I love what C.S. Lewis states:“We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us.  We are far too easily pleased.” Indeed, to our own loss and disgrace we would rather play in the sandbox than have a day at the beach.  As Christians we need a wakeup call!  Obedience is paramount to our contentment, peace and joy.  It is spoken to throughout the entire Bible.  It is commanded for our good.  It provides concrete proof of our trust and our faith in God and of our love for Him.Jeremiah chapter seven is a wonderful chapter addressing the topic of obedience.  It serves as a great reminder to us as well (consider, if we are believers, that when “house” is mentioned it is now our physical bodies this refers to – our bodies are God’s temple):   ⁹ ”‘Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, ¹⁰ and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe”–safe to do all these detestable things? ¹¹ Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the LORD. Jer 7:9-11 (NIV) ²¹ ”‘This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go ahead, add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices and eat the meat yourselves! ²² For when I brought your forefathers out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices, ²³ but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you. ²⁴ But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward.   Jer 7:21-24 (NIV) Unfortunately, we have the exact same tendencies.  We choose poorly, we allow the world to be our God and influence.  Remember, what the world calls valuable, God calls worthless; what the world scorns, God exalts.  Peter tells us:   ¹³ Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. ¹⁴ As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. ¹⁵ But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; ¹⁶ for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”   1 Peter 1:13-16 (NIV) We are to be children of obedience, molding our character after that of Christ.  Titus adds: ¹ Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, ² to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.

³ At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. ⁴ But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, ⁵ he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. ⁸ This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.  Titus 3:1-8 (NIV) Excellent and profitable sound good to me!  Alva J. McClain states: “We often remind ourselves, and we remind you, that joy in its deepest sense comes only from the worship of God and obedient service to His will.  So has it been from the beginning, so will it ever be.”   What I glean from this:·         If I call Jesus Lord, I must do what He says.·         What Jesus calls me to do is always for my good.·         I must listen to God, through His Word, for instruction rather than the world.     ****************************************************************************

SHARING BREAD⁴⁵ The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. Luke 6:44-45 (NIV)What is stored up in our hearts?  Beware; Jesus tells us, it will come out of our mouths. The tongue can be used as a lethal, relentless, flaming missile which assaults with hellish power or conversely, it can be used to encourage, exhort, lead others to Christ and praise the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.  I love the way James describes the tongue:It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.  James 3:8 (NIV)   ⁹ With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. ¹⁰ Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.   James 3:9-10 (NIV) No one can tame the tongue because its source lies in the overflow of the heart which, we all understand, is deceitful beyond all cures.  Does this just mean we give up and don’t even bother?  Jesus tells us No! We are to store up “good” in our hearts so that “good” will come forth. The word rendered “good” is from the Greek word “Agathos” meaning benevolent, profitable, useful; it underscores the beneficial properties of something and represents something as being advantageous to another, promoting his welfare; it often signifies inherent goodness, and describes something as virtuous; a good, upright and virtuous heart.  Sounds good to me!  How do I go about obtaining this?  If we have a good deposit of wealth stored up in our hearts, the words we will bring forth will edify and build up the hearer.  Within our mouths we have the power of inflicting verbal cyanide or speaking life to those within our sphere.  We owe it to ourselves and to those that we love to “store up good”. What exactly does “store up” mean?  A few definitions from the Oxford dictionary shed light: ·         A quantity of something kept available for use.·         Articles for a particular purpose accumulated for use.·         Provisions for future use.·         Stock with something useful.·         Kept in readiness.·         Considered important or valuable. What jumps out at me the most is to be prepared with what is most valuable – for use!  If we have Truth stored, we must use it – it is not for knowledge sake only as that puffs up, but for building and investing in others.  It reminds me of Paul’s words as he gives a charge to his beloved Timothy: ¹ In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: ² Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage–with great patience and careful instruction. ³ For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. ⁴ They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. ⁵ But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.  2 Tim 4:1-5 (NIV)  We have all certainly heard the expression “garbage in, garbage out” referring to everything from computers to diets – this is exactly the same premise.  What do we choose to put in our minds?  What do we choose to put before our eyes?  What do we choose to dwell on?  These are all very important issues.  It is hard to pull up an encouraging verse for a hurting soul (and there are many hurting souls!) if we have only had a steady diet of “steamy literature” or worldly media bombardment – it simply is not there to be found.  The old adage that “you can’t squeeze blood out of a turnip is true!”  The Psalmist tells us:¹¹ I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.  Psalms 119:11 (NIV) We should put our thoughts, actions, and words through the following “sieve” of God’s Word:⁸ Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.  Phil 4:8 (NIV) In doing the above, it will make us a rich storehouse of blessing for others and also bring benefit to ourselves.  ⁶ He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure.  Isaiah 33:6 (NIV) What I gleam from this:

• What is stored up in my heart will come out of my mouth.
• I am to store up good in my heart through God’s precious Word.
• It is important what I allow my eyes to see and my ears to hear.

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SHARING BREAD⁴¹ ”Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴² How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. Luke 6:41-42 (NIV)In the above verses, Jesus is working on our hypocrisy.  Isn’t it easy for us to spot flaws (specks) in others while paying no attention to the elephants (planks) in our own lives?  We can be so soft on ourselves can’t we?  If we truly want to impact others lives, encouraging them to walk like Jesus, then we too should be seeking to walk like Jesus – searching our own hearts and asking the Spirit to point out wickedness and give us the power to change.  David writes in Psalm 139:²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
²⁴ See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.  Psalms 139:23-24 (NIV) Interestingly, the term “offensive way” actually means “the way of pain”.  Anytime we are off course with the Lord, going our own way, it is the way of pain.  Likewise, we should beseech the Lord’s searching of our own hearts that we also, may change (repent) and not go the way of pain. The word rendered “look” in verse 41 is the Greek word “Blepo” meaning to look, see, take care, and watch; to stare, gawk or gape at connoting fixation while “pay no attention to” denotes lack of consideration, observation or contemplation.  How like us to focus with fixed interest on the failings of others and not stop to consider our own weaknesses!  Jesus calls this a hypocrite – someone who is counterfeit, a feigned character, and a pretender.  May that definition not be found following our names! It is very important how we choose to live.  We are told in Scripture:   ⁵ Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. ⁶ Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.   Col 4:5-6 (NIV)
     ¹⁵ Be very careful, then, how you live–not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.  Eph 5:15-17 (NIV) ¹⁰ Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. ¹¹ And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. ¹² The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. ¹³ Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. ¹⁴ Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature. Romans 13:9-14 (NIV) In Surprised By Joy, C.S. Lewis paints a vivid description of what he found when he examined his own heart:  “A zoo of lusts, a bedlam of ambitions, a nursery of fears and a harem of fondled hatreds.”  I would say that that was some powerful and honest searching!  Are we willing to discover what lies within our own hearts so that we may repent and be conformed to the image of God’s Son?  This, my friends, is the non-hypocritical way of the cross.  This is what followers of Christ are called to.  Alas,⁹ The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?  ¹⁰ ”I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.”   Jer 17:9-10 (NIV) “I never have difficulty believing in miracles, since I experienced the miracle of a change in my own heart.”  AugustineWhat I glean from this:·         Before I can help others, I must help myself.·         I help myself by dealing with the sins of my own heart.  Through the power of the Holy Spirit, I change.·         To impact the world for Christ, I must impact my heart for Christ.If you are not impacting the world for Jesus – you are wasting your time 

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SHARING BREAD    ³⁹ He also told them this parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? ⁴⁰ A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher. Luke 6:39-40 (NIV)Who do we follow?  Are we being led by the spiritually blind?  Beware, Jesus tell us, or we may fall into a pit!  Jesus called the religious leaders of His day “blind guides” in Matthew: ¹³ He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. ¹⁴ Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”   Matt 15:13-14 (NIV) The Pharisees had chosen the wrong path and nothing was going to deter them.  This is why we, as believers, are ourselves responsible for knowing Truth.  The Bereans were commended for this action: ¹¹ Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.   Acts 17:11 (NIV) If we made this a practice in our own lives I daresay it would prevent us from falling into wrong ways of thinking!  A person falls into sin but holiness is a pursuit and takes discipline on our part.  Many people are out there today preaching untruth – not unlike in Paul’s day: ⁶ They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, ⁷ always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.   2 Tim 3:6-7 (NIV) I am not picking on women here; men have the ability to succumb to this too.  Beware, lest we fall!  Paul adds to this truth in Colossians:
⁸ See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.  Col 2:8 (NIV) God loves His Word.  He tells us in Isaiah:  ¹⁰ As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
¹¹ so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.  Isaiah 55:10-11 (NIV)Unlike our words, God’s Word is alive and active and powerful and true – always.  We would do well to invest our time and energies into a knowledge of it and become “fully trained” as the Scripture today exhorts. In our verses for today, the word translated “student” in verse forty is the Greek word Mathetes” meaning a disciple, learner, adherent, follower; it denotes an adherent who accepts this instruction given to him and makes it his rule of conduct – Jesus’ disciples made His teaching the basis of their conduct. For His disciples today the same is true – His Word should be learned and followed as our rule of conduct.   Lastly, “fully trained” in the same verse is from the Greek word “Katartizo” meaning to prepare and repair.  To adjust with great wisdom and propriety, to perfect, finish and complete; to reunite in mind and sentiment, reconcile, as opposed to having schisms and ruptures.  Isn’t that great?  Wouldn’t that be a great goal for us all to have?  I don’t know about you, but I would like to be adjusted with Great Wisdom!  May we all desire to be like Ezra whose blessed life was dependant on this key:  He had begun his journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month, and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, for the gracious hand of his God was on him. ¹⁰ For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the LORD, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.   Ezra 7:9-10 (NIV)   What I glean from this: ·         I am responsible for knowing Truth (Scripture) myself. ·         My conduct should reflect the Truth that I have learned. ·         I can fall into sin but I must pursue holiness.  

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