March_31

SHARING BREAD

²⁴ “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”

John 5:24 (NIV)

The Truth speaking the truth – holding out to us a transfusion of  hope – gives us the following two commands for life both to experience presently and eternally:  hear and live, believe and live.  I am reminded of the words of the townspeople the woman at the well had witnessed to after they had heard Jesus’ Word themselves:

⁴² They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.” John 4:42 (NIV)

 

As Jesus came to presently give us life to the full and to overflow our cups believers experience a resurrection that now is – a resurrection from the death of sin to the life of righteousness.  Jesus is the fountain of life and of all good.

“The kingdom of grace, and all the life in that kingdom, are as fully and absolutely in the hand of the Redeemer as the kingdom of providence is in the hand of the Creator.”   Matthew Henry

Paul tells us in Ephesians that though we had nothing to offer – being spiritually dead and by nature objects of wrath and bond-slaves to sin and Satan – God made us alive in Christ.  Christ provides our way to God who is our glorious peace and rest.  Hence believers presently experience life from death.  The act of God in giving life to the unregenerate demonstrates to us His unmerited love, mercy and grace:

¹ As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ² in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. ³ All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. ⁴ But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions–it is by grace you have been saved.   Eph 2:1-5 (NIV)

 

¹³ When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, ¹⁴ having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. ¹⁵ And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.   Col 2:13-15 (NIV)

 

Believers have also crossed over from death to life eternally as there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  Paul tells us in Romans:

¹ Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, ² because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. ³ For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering.  And so he condemned sin in sinful man, ⁴ in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.   Romans 8:1-4 (NIV)

Believers are presently set free to live under the law of the Spirit of life – exuding the fruit of the Spirit:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control – in preparation for eternity not choosing to live according to the sinful nature.  What we believe will always show forth in our actions. Our freedom being not so much a right as a duty as Paul states again in Romans:

¹¹ In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. ¹² Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. ¹³ Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. ¹⁴ For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.   Romans 6:11-14 (NIV)

 

¹⁸ You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.  Romans 6:18 (NIV)

 

Freedom is not fun. It is not the same as individual happiness, nor is it security or peace or progress … It is responsible choice. Freedom is not so much right as a duty. Real freedom is not freedom from something; that would be license. It is freedom to choose between doing or not doing something, to act one way or another, to hold one belief or the opposite. It is never a release and always, a responsibility. It is not “fun” but the heaviest burden laid on man; to decide his own individual conduct as well as the conduct of society and to be responsible for both decisions. The only basis of freedom is the Christian concept of man’s nature; imperfect, weak, a sinner, and dust destined into dust; yet made in God’s image and responsible for his actions.    Peter Drucker 1942 

What I glean from this:

• Jesus commands me to hear and live and to believe and live.
• I once was a bond-slave to sin and now I am a bond-slave to Jesus.
• I have a choice to count myself dead to sin but alive to Jesus – living by the law of the Spirit of life through the power of the Spirit – exuding love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

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March_29

SHARING BREAD

²² Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, ²³ that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.

John 5:22-23 (NIV)

Jesus has been given the authority to judge – the Father has entrusted all judgment to the Son and is pleased to govern through Christ.  Jesus as our Mediator and vicarious satisfaction has been given the final and universal judgment – by His award we stand or fall.  We find in verse 27 of this same chapter of John the following:

²⁷ And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.   John 5:27 (NIV)

It is fitting that Jesus be the One to execute judgment as it was He who performed our salvation.  By His humiliation and gracious condescension to become a man – though fully God – and die for our sins, the Father has made Him Lord over all.  We find in Philippians:

⁹ Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.   Phil 2:9-11 (NIV)

“Tomorrow’s history has already been written – at the name of Jesus, every knee must bow.”  Paul Kauffman

 “No intelligent being—whether angels and saints in heaven; people living on the earth; or Satan, demons, and the unsaved in hell—in all of God’s universe will escape.  All will bow either willingly or they will be made to do so.”   Bible Knowledge Commentary

 

“Our Creator is infinitely good, and His will is love: to submit to one who is ‘too wise to err, too good to be unkind,’ should not be hard.”  C.H. Spurgeon

Peter made it clear that Jesus’ ministry would result in either salvation or judgment – we are all held accountable to Christ as our Judge.  He tells us in Acts:

⁴² He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. ⁴³ All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”    Acts 10:42-43 (NIV)

 

“The prophets did bear witness to this, ‘that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.’  This is the great thing we need, without which we are undone.  And the forgiveness of sins lays a foundation for all other favours and blessings.  If sin is pardoned, all is well, and shall end everlastingly well.”   Matthew Henry

Jesus also demonstrates for us in our verses for today the blessed unity of the Godhead.  God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit – are so inextricably intertwined that when honor or dishonor is bestowed upon One, it is bestowed upon All.  This Truth is shown forth in verse 23:   ²³ that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.  One cannot have the Father without the Son or the Spirit or the Son without the Father or the Spirit or the Spirit without the Father or the Son. To accept or reject One is to accept or reject All.

 

²³ No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. 1 John 2:23 (NIV)

 

All wisdom for judgment stems from the Triune God rightly resulting in man’s awe and honor. 

“His wisdom’s vast, and knows no bounds, a deep where all our thoughts are drowned.”  Isaac Watts

Interestingly, in reading recently about Solomon’s God given wisdom demonstrated in a verdict he passed down, awe was the exact and appropriate response from the people:

²⁸ When all Israel heard the verdict the king had given, they held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice.   1 Kings 3:28 (NIV)

 ²⁹ God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore.  1 Kings 4:29 (NIV)

¹⁴ Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you.  ¹⁵Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O LORD.  ¹⁶They rejoice in your name all day long; they exult in your righteousness.    Psalms 89:14-16 (NIV)

What I glean from this:

• Jesus has been given the authority to judge.
• Every knee will one day bow to Jesus – the Author and Perfecter of our faith.
• All wisdom stems from the Triune God.

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March_26

SHARING BREAD

²¹ For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.

John 5:21 (NIV)

It is the right of Deity alone to raise the dead and give life – both physically and spiritually.  This is purely the work of divine power, the knowledge of it solely by divine revelation.  Here Jesus states that He is invested with this prerogative – by His Word He can work anything.  Resurrection is a return to life – both physically and spiritually – Christ being the Author of this return and the life effervescence of this return.  Oftentimes life’s circumstance can leave us dry, depleted, disappointed and dismayed.  Things do not turn out as we had planned or hoped or dreamed.  The Giver of every perfect gift holds out the fullness of life to us and woos us with His love asking if we are willing to walk by faith in His good and pleasing and perfect will.  Indeed, He states that this is the reason for which He came:

¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.  John 10:10 (NIV)

“Sinners are spiritually dead, miserable, but neither aware of their misery nor able to help themselves out of it.  The conversion of a soul to God is its resurrection from death to life; then it begins to live when it begins to live for God.  It is by the voice of the Son of God that souls are raised to spiritual life.  The dead will hear the voice of the Son of God.”   Matthew Henry   

²⁵ Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me, ²⁶ but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. ²⁷ My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one.”   John 10:25-30 (NIV)

 I am reminded of Jesus’ comforting Words to mourning Martha after the death of her brother Lazarus and His penetrating question which followed:

 ²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; ²⁶ and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”  John 11:25-26 (NIV)

 

I am reminded of some of the sweetest verses in Scripture regarding this subject.  Below are a few just to savor and demonstrate to us that God’s motivation towards us is love.  Perhaps we should follow each of these verses with Jesus’ Words to Martha –   “Do you believe this?”

 

 ¹⁶ “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  John 3:16 (NIV)  

⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.    Romans 5:8 (NIV)

 

¹ As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ² in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. ³ All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. ⁴ But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions–it is by grace you have been saved.   Eph 2:1-5 (NIV)

 

⁹ This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.  1 John 4:9-10 (NIV)

 

“Do you believe this?”

 

“Reader, is the Lord Jesus thy Shepherd?  Has he called thee out of the wilderness?  Called thy heart from the love of sin and the world, and brought thee into his fold and pastures; brought thee into a close attendance on his ordinances?  And does he feed and refresh thy soul with his word?  Canst thou distinguish the Shepherd’s voice from the voice of an hireling?  And does thy heart cleave to the Shepherd in faith and love; adoring his person, and approving his laws, as well as admiring his doctrines?  Then fear not; the Lord is with thee; Jesus is thy Shepherd:  thou shalt want nothing that is really good.  Follow thy Shepherd till he bring thee to glory.”  K. H. Von Bogatzky

 

What I glean from this:

• Jesus came to give me fullness of life – He came to overflow my cup.
• I desire to listen to my Shepherd’s voice and follow hard after Him.
• Jesus loves me this I know. 

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March_24

SHARING BREAD

 ¹⁹ Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. ²⁰ For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these.

John 5:19-20 (NIV)

Calling attention to the importance of His declaration, Jesus tells His listeners He is the full disclosure of His Father’s works.  It is impossible for Him to act separately as He Himself is very God of very God.  Jesus Christ is Yahweh-God – the fullness of the Godhead in bodily form – fully God and fully Man.  Paul tells us in Colossians:

¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶ For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. ¹⁷ He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸ And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. ¹⁹ For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, ²⁰ and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.   Col 1:15-20 (NIV)

Jesus is the exact representation and the manifestation of His Father.  The writer of Hebrews gives us the following description:

³ The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.   Heb 1:2-3 (NIV)

One day all will acknowledge that Jesus is who He claimed to be – eventually everyone will acknowledge His sovereignty – unfortunately for many it will then be too late for the salvation of their souls. The prophet Isaiah tells us:

²² “Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. ²³ By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear.   Isaiah 45:22-23 (NIV)

 

Paul also urges us with the following words in 2 Corinthians as well:

¹⁸ All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: ¹⁹ that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. ²¹ God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.   2 Cor 5:18-21 (NIV)

As Jesus came as our Mediator, Savior and Deliverer, He also came as our Example that we, through the power of the Holy Spirit, should walk as He. We are told by John:

⁶ Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. 1 John 2:6 (NIV)

 

“Christ became what we are that He might make us what He is.”  Athanasius of Alexandria

We find in the gospel of John the following Words from our Lord:

¹² I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³ And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.   John 14:12-13 (NIV)

Paul gives us further depth and clarity to this command by stressing our attitudes, denial of self; humility and love for God as the prompters for our actions.  He tells us in Philippians:

⁵ Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: ⁶ Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, ⁷ but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  ⁸ And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death– even death on a cross! ⁹ Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.   Phil 2:5-11 (NIV)

“All true knowledge of God is born out of obedience.”  John Calvin 

“The greatness of a man’s power is the measure of his surrender.”  William Booth

 “Ask me not where I live or what I like to eat…Ask me what I am living for and what I think is keeping me from living fully for that.”  Thomas Merton

What I glean from this:

• Jesus Christ Himself is very God of very God.
• Jesus Christ sustains everything by His powerful Word.
• One day every knee will bow to His Authority 

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March_22

SHARING BREAD

¹⁶ So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. ¹⁷ Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.” ¹⁸ For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

John 5:16-18 (NIV)

In our verses for today, we find the Pharisees hot on pursuit to persecute our Lord.  In their summation, He is guilty of breaking the Sabbath.  What they fail to grasp is that Jesus had not come to abolish, break or negate the Law rather to perfectly fulfill it by fleshing out before their eyes an obedience that is not merely external but also internal – a true inner righteousness based on faith in God coupled with the power of the Holy Spirit. Both fully God and fully Man, it is Jesus alone who perfectly accomplishes this fete.  Jesus tells us in Matthew:

¹⁷ “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. ¹⁸ I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.   Matt 5:17-18 (NIV)

Jesus also gives us the command for mercy stating that it triumphs over sacrifice.  Many of His healings were done on the Sabbath putting meat to His Word below:

⁷ If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. ⁸ For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”   Matt 12:7-8 (NIV)

Jesus is far more interested in the inner spiritual vitality over the formality of the meager external obedience.  We are not to live merely based upon the letter of the law but on the spirit of the gospel as well. Anybody can be disciplined enough to follow a set of rules – He looks for greater still. What is the motivation behind the action?  Does it glorify God or man?  Is it motivated by love or selfish ambition or vain conceits? 

“Joy is love exalted; peace is love in repose; long-suffering is love enduring; gentleness is love in society; goodness is love in action; faith is love on the battlefield; meekness is love in school; and temperance is love in training.”   Dwight L. Moody

“Every time we resist the slightest temptation, we honor God.  Every time we overcome even the smallest problem by trusting and obeying our Lord Jesus, God is glorified in our lives.  Whenever we choose character over convenience, faithfulness over ease, or honesty over deceit, we bring honor to the Lord Himself.”  Robert J. Morgan

⁷ Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹ Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.   1 John 4:7-12 (NIV)

“You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving.”  Amy Carmichael

Indeed, Jesus is interested in the heart change or perhaps I should say exchange.  He wants to take our hearts of stone and give us hearts of flesh.  It is God who changes the human heart – His desire is for us to turn to Him – He seeks our will. He never forces us to follow; He woos us with love to come. The prophet Ezekiel tells us:

²⁶ I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.   Ezek 36:26-27 (NIV)

Paul puts it this way in 2 Corinthians:

¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Cor 5:17 (NIV)

 

It is interesting to me that when our ways are rocked it is often our desire to rid ourselves of the rocker!  This is not dissimilar to what we see in our verses today.  The Pharisees in their pretence for having a jealousy for God’s honor seek to slay His Son.  Here they unjustly impute an offense to Christ’s Word equating Himself with God yet His Word is true – He is equal to God as He is God Himself.   Jesus tells us clearly later in John:

“If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” ²⁵ Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me, ²⁶ but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. ²⁷ My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one.” ³¹ Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, ³² but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?” ³³ “We are not stoning you for any of these,” replied the Jews, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”   John 10:24-33 (NIV)

What I glean from this:

• Jesus came to earth and perfectly fulfilled all righteousness.
• Jesus desires mercy over sacrifice from me.
• The motivation behind my actions should be love.  

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March_19

SHARING BREAD

¹⁴ Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” ¹⁵ The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.

John 5:14-15 (NIV)

I am reminded of Jesus’ stern warning presented in both Matthew and Luke to those who continue to persist in their unbelief:

⁴³ “When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. ⁴⁴ Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”  Matt 12:43-45 (NIV)

 

²³ “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters. ²⁴ “When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ ²⁵ When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. ²⁶ Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first.”   Luke 11:23-26 (NIV)

Knowing that it is impossible to remain neutral in the battle between Christ and Satan, Jesus calls our healed protagonist to a decision. These words would not have been unfamiliar to the Jewish listening ear.  Moses, Elijah and Joshua – just to name a few – clearly all called the people to make a choice.  We find in Deuteronomy, Moses’ clarion call:

¹⁵ See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. ¹⁶ For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. ¹⁷ But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, ¹⁸ I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.   Deut 30:15-18 (NIV)

 

In like manner, the prophet Elijah presents this same question to the people of Israel in his grand show down with the prophets of Baal and Asherah on Mount Carmel found in 1 Kings:

²¹ Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”   1 Kings 18:21 (NIV)

 

Interestingly, the word translated “waver” found in the above verse in 1 Kings is from the Hebrew word “pasha” meaning a limping dance.  How often that is true in our day and age as well.  We find ourselves doing a one legged two step with God and a one legged two step with the world.  Beth Moore’s grandmother used to say:  “You better dance with the one who brought you!”  In like manner, we would do well to remember to dance with the One who has brought us thus far!

Lastly, Joshua presents yet again the same choice in these well known verses found in the Book which bears his name:

¹⁴ “Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. ¹⁵ But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”   Josh 24:14-15 (NIV)

 

God is His mercy calls us over and over again to come to Him – to turn from our ways and embrace the One who willingly gave His Son to restore us once again to a right relationship with Him.  To entrust ourselves into His loving hands should not be hard as His plans for us are to prosper and not harm us.  His plans for us are to give us hope and a future.  I was reminded of a beautiful passage in Jeremiah today through a devotional I was reading reinforcing this great truth:

⁸ See, I will bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the ends of the earth. Among them will be the blind and the lame, expectant mothers and women in labor; a great throng will return. ⁹ They will come with weeping; they will pray as I bring them back. I will lead them beside streams of water on a level path where they will not stumble, because I am Israel’s father, and Ephraim is my firstborn son.  Jer 31:8-9 (NIV)

¹² They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will rejoice in the bounty of the LORD– the grain, the new wine and the oil, the young of the flocks and herds.  They will be like a well-watered garden, and they will sorrow no more. ¹³ Then maidens will dance and be glad, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow. ¹⁴ I will satisfy the priests with abundance, and my people will be filled with my bounty,” declares the LORD.  Jer 31:12-14 (NIV)

“Now, O Lord, I am blind, and heartily desire also to be directed by thee alone in all my ways and steps, in great and little things.  Suffer me never to follow my own spirit and natural inclinations, whatever good appearance they may have.  Be pleased to cross them continually, whenever they are contrary to thy will.  Often have I been deceived by false appearances already; my zeal has not always been according to knowledge; I have put natural passion in the place thereof, and thought I was contending for the faith once delivered to the saints, and have afterwards found it no better than the effects of a party spirit.  Be then a Father to me, O Lord, and instruct thy waiting child in all necessary truths, and lead me in all thy righteous ways.”   K. H. Von Bogatzky  

What I glean from this:

•  I am called to make a choice to follow hard after Jesus.
•  God is merciful in calling us back into a right relationship with Him.
• God has only my best interest at heart.

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March_17

SHARING BREAD

¹⁰ and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.”

¹¹ But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’”

¹² So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?”

¹³ The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.

John 5:10-13 (NIV)

How like the Pharisees to jump on the infraction rather than the miracle.  This poor man had suffered paralysis for thirty-eight long years – imprisoned within his own vessel – and was now set free – not only able to get up but also miraculously able to walk and carry his own mat.  Yet despite this wonder, these legal zealots of their day were determined to focus on the breaking of the law rather than the miracle stemming from the mercy.  Boy it is certainly easy to fall into a legalistic mind trap. Before we know it, our religion becomes a set of rules ordered and policed by those in authority rather than a living relationship with the Creator God that Jesus came and died to offer us. 

“Being the Sabbath, whoever carried a burden through the streets made himself very remarkable, and everyone would enquire what was the meaning of it.  Christ would thus witness against the tradition of the elders.  The case may be such that it may become a work of necessity, or mercy, to carry a bed on the Sabbath; but here it was more, it was a work of piety.  He would thus test the faith and obedience of his patient.  Those that have been healed by Christ’s word should be ruled by his word.”    Matthew Henry 

I am reminded of another encounter with Jesus regarding the breaking of the Sabbath.  Mathew tells us in his gospel:

¹ At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. ² When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.” ³ He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? ⁴ He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread–which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. ⁵ Or haven’t you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent? ⁶ I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. ⁷ If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. ⁸ For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”  Matt 12:1-8 (NIV)

Splitting hairs over technicalities, the Pharisees failed to grasp both compassion and mercy for people’s basic needs – negating what the Sabbath was even created for.  The Sabbath was instituted for mankind’s benefit and refreshment not for the adherence to some manmade burdensome regulations pertaining to it. We find in Mark the following verse:

²⁷ Then he said to them “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”  Mark 2:27 (NIV)

 

“Nothing graces the Christian soul as much as mercy.”   Ambrose

 

Interestingly, just as David, God’s anointed, was being hotly pursued by the forces of Saul’s dying dynasty, so too Jesus, God’s new Anointed One, was being hounded by the forces of yet another dying dynasty. 

“We must be aware of the various ways sin pulls us to wrong thoughts about God, righteousness, grace, ourselves and sin itself. Only the truth of God’s word and meditation in prayer can reveal the deceitfulness of sin. Sin works against God. Sin will either deceive us into thinking God is a cruel taskmaster, or, if that will not work, will deceive us into thinking He is like a doting grandfather who really does not care what we do. Sin affects every Christian’s view of God and leads us to worship idols, figments of our own imaginations, and not the true God. Sin will deceive us concerning grace. We will either be deceived into thinking it is too good to be true, or we will buy into cheap grace and think that ethics are unimportant.”  Dr. Bob Flayhart

 

Hounded by the taunts of the Pharisees stating the law forbade his actions, our protagonist defends his obedience to these religious leaders by repeating what Jesus had commanded him.  His reasoning was right on target.  He who could perform such a miracle as to make the lame leap would certainly not be so unkind as to command him to do something sinful.  Industriously overlooking the miraculous as perhaps a ground for their faith in Christ, the Pharisees rather resolved to turn their focus on Jesus as a mere man.  Christ, however, allowed the miracle to commend it, and the man on whom it was performed to justify it.  Miracles are finger marks of God – signs given by the Master for our learning and pondering their significance in recognizing Jesus’ Oneness with the Father.  Jesus affirms this in the gospel of John:

³⁷ Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. ³⁸ But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”  John 10:37-38 (NIV)

 

What I glean from this:

• Our faith is not to be a set of rules rather a loving relationship with the living God.  ¹⁹ We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19 (NIV)
• God desires for me to be merciful.  ⁷ Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.   Matt 5:7 (NIV)
• As a believer, Christ has spiritually healed me therefore I should be ruled by His Word.  ¹⁰⁵ Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.   Psalms 119:105 (NIV)

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March_15

SHARING BREAD

⁷ “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”

⁸ Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”  ⁹ At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.

The day on which this took place was a Sabbath,

John 5:7-9 (NIV)

In response to Jesus’ question – “Do you want to get well?” – the invalid bewails his misfortune in a discourse to Jesus regarding his helpless plight.  He lacked not the desire for healing but the means for healing – without strength and without friends to assist him into the pool.  He had experienced thirty-eight long years of no success yet still to his credit, he persevered.  He was all too familiar with failure.  Interestingly, I wonder how many years we have dealt with no success regarding our own weaknesses and infirmities.  How often have we tried in our own disabled strength to rid ourselves of fleshly behaviors only to discover that were yet once again wallowing in the mud?  Jesus came to liberate us from the bondage of self, sin and death – to free us to live in freedom not yoked to slavery again.  Fulfilling the prophet Isaiah’s words Jesus tells us:

¹⁷ The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: 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.” ²⁰ Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, ²¹ and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”    Luke 4:17-21 (NIV)

“When we can do nothing Jesus can do all things; let us enlist His powerful aid upon our side, and all will be well.”  Charles Spurgeon

Indeed, Jesus came heralding in “the year of the Lord’s favor” and what favor it was!  Just like this disabled invalid finds himself now restored to wholeness, it is Jesus’ desire to restore us to wholeness as well.

“We are so preciously loved by God that we cannot even comprehend it.  No created being can ever know how much and how sweetly and tenderly God loves them.”   Julian of Norwich

Paul gives us these encouraging words:

¹ It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.   Gal 5:1 (NIV)

By our very natures we will be yoked to something – either to sin which leads to death or Jesus who leads to life.  That is why He is so desirous that we be yoked to Him as His yoke is easy and His burden is light.  Jesus tells us in Matthew:

²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  Matt 11:28-30 (NIV)

“This is a free invitation to every weary and heavy laden sinner, made by Him who alone is able to take away the load and guilt of sin.  Every person under the pressure of sin not only may, but must, come to Jesus, thus laden with guilt, if he hopes to succeed for pardon……In our own ways there is nothing but trouble; but giving ourselves entirely up to be guided by God at his own pleasure, we may always be easy, since we know that by every step he brings us nearer to heaven.  The only way to rest, is the way of repentance and faith; in which we consider ourselves, from the beginning even to the end of our Christian life, as utterly lost and condemned by the law, but as perfectly reconciled and justified through Christ….And his rest is promised not for the merit of our labour and humility, but merely for our coming to him, and believing in him.  He says, ‘Take my yoke upon you.’  ‘But how shall I take it?’ says the sinner.  ‘Why,’ says Christ, ‘Learn of me:  let me be your Teacher, and though you are blind and foolish, fretful and forgetful, yea, wholly polluted with sin, I can yet bear with you, because I am meek and lowly in heart:  not rough and haughty to offenders, as Pharisees usually are; but full of compassion towards them, willing to receive them, and ready to forgive and comfort them,’ etc.  Come, therefore, to him, O sinner, with all thy load of sin and misery, and he will in no wise cast thee out, but receive thee gladly.”    K. H. Von Bogatzky        

Jesus continues His talk with this invalid man by stating the commands:  “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”  What an unusual order to a paralyzed person yet faith must be tried to be proven true does it not?  Thus the walk of faith must begin before the healing rushes in.  Jesus sits at the immediate ready – His hand waiting to thrust forth providing our aid.  Just as a parent follows a toddler who is learning to walk – ready to give quick assistance when they totter – so too our heavenly Father is ready and able to assist His children.  Note in our verses for today the invalid is healed at once and perfectly, wholly – the trademark of the Master’s work.  He was not healed in a matter of degrees rather miraculously to the highest degree of bodily strength – from not being able to turn himself over to being able to carry his own bed simply on the strength of Christ’s Word.  I am reminded of Isaiah’s words regarding God’s Word:

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)

 

What I glean from this:

• Just as Jesus came to this invalid, He comes to me and asks “Do you want to get well” from your infirmities and weaknesses?   “Our Creator is infinitely good, and His will is love: to submit to one who is ‘too wise to err, too good to be unkind,’ should not be hard.”  C.H. Spurgeon
• Jesus desires for me to be yoked to Him.
• Jesus wants me to depend on Him.  “Confidence in the natural world is self-reliance; in the spiritual world it is God-reliance.”  Oswald Chambers

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March_12

SHARING BREAD

¹ Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. ² Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. ³ Here a great number of disabled people used to lie–the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. ⁵ One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. ⁶ When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”

John 5:1-6 (NIV)

In our verses for today, Jesus heads up to Jerusalem for the most celebrated of Jewish feasts – the Passover.  It would be an opportunity for good as people in great number from all parts of the country would be present – no doubt their focus already in a frame of mind to worship God.  Certainly a mind that is inclined towards devotion to God is ripe for further revelations of divine truth.  Interestingly, Jesus heads for the “hospital” of the day which was appropriately placed near the Sheep Gate.  A pool for healing called Bethesda, meaning “the house of mercy”, was surrounded by the lame and the blind and the paralyzed.  Spiritually speaking, apart from Jesus we are all in this disabled state – approaching Him through the “sheep gate” for mercy.  I am reminded of the prophet Isaiah’s words:

⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.  Isaiah 53:6 (NIV)

King David tells us in Psalm 14 and Paul echoes the same sentiment in Romans 3 the following truth:

¹ The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. ² The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.  ³ All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.   Psalms 14:1-3 (NIV)

Mercifully and gratefully Jesus came to seek and save the sick and wounded – physically but more importantly spiritually.  It is Christ’s delight to help the helpless.  When asked by the Pharisees and teachers of the day why He associated with the likes of sinners, Jesus’ reply was as follows:

³⁰ But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?” ³¹ Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ³² I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”   Luke 5:29-32 (NIV)

 

Our verse for today tells us that throngs of the disabled, the helpless and the weak surrounded this pool of Bethesda – all hoping for healing when placed in the stirred waters.  What a sight that must have been as nothing can stir a heart towards empathy like coming face to face with those who are least able to help themselves.  It is here that our Jesus approaches and begins an encounter with a man who had been in a condition of disadvantage for thirty-eight years.  Jesus approaches with a simple question – “Do you want to get well?”

 

“Christ is tenderly inquisitive concerning the desires of those who are in affliction, to teach them to value the mercy, and to excite in them desires after it.  In spiritual cases, people are not willing to be cured of their sins. If people were willing to be made well, the work would be half done, for Christ is willing to heal, if we are only willing to be healed.”   Matthew Henry

 

“We Christians too often substitute prayer for playing the game. Prayer is good; but when used as a substitute for obedience, it is nothing but a blatant hypocrisy, a despicable Pharisaism…
To your knees, man! and to your Bible! Decide at once! Don’t hedge! Time flies! Cease your insults to God, quit consulting flesh and blood. Stop your lame, lying, and cowardly excuses. Enlist!”   C. T. Studd

It is easier to see our need when we are physically without strength being in a state of disadvantage yet oftentimes we house maladies we need to be awakened to which keep us in this same state of disadvantage.  As believers we are to seek Jesus’ healing mercy and grace as well.  There are many things that perhaps catch us unaware yet the Spirit constantly seeks to draw our attention to – things such as unforgiveness, selfishness, greed, pride, anger, guilt, insecurities, cold hearts, etc., etc.  And Jesus asks of us the same question:  “Do you want to get well?”  He offers us the opportunity for wellness in lieu of wallowing, for standing firm in place of falling.  As believers we have been given freedom from these forms of bondage.  Scripture tells us we are to “renounce secret and shameful ways” and “with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory” (2 Corinthians 4:2 and 2 Corinthians 3:18).

¹ It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.    Gal 5:1 (NIV)

 

 

What I glean from this:

• Thankfully for me, Jesus came to seek and to save the sick and the wounded.
• Nothing stirred Jesus’ heart like the helpless and hopeless – again, thankfully for me!
• It is Jesus’ desire for me to be free – not yoked again to any slavery or bondage to sin – all preventing me from being a reflection of His glory or a display of His splendor.   

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March_10

SHARING BREAD

⁴⁹ The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”

⁵⁰ Jesus replied, “You may go. Your son will live.”

The man took Jesus at his word and departed. ⁵¹ While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. ⁵² When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour.”

⁵³ Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and all his household believed.

⁵⁴ This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee.

John 4:49-54 (NIV)

Simply put, God honors believing faith.  Not taking Jesus’ reproof as a denial, our protagonist patiently pursued his parental request for his son’s healing.  He is consumed with concern for his child – it is foremost on his mind. Still revealing a weakness in his faith as he appears to believe Christ must be present for His power to prevail, this royal official desires for Jesus to accompany him home for the healing.  From the wording in verse 49, He obviously had a sense of urgency about him – perhaps believing that Jesus could heal the sick but not raise the dead.  Yet a meager faith goes a long way with our Lord.  I am reminded of His Word in Matthew:

“I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move.  Nothing will be impossible for you. “   Matt 17:20 (NIV)

Though a mustard seed is very small when planted, in one season alone it will grow to a great height – 12 to 15 feet – even becoming a nesting place for the birds of the air!  In like manner, a professing believer’s faith may have a small beginning but when practiced will grow as faith is put to work.  The Bible gives us the following definition for faith:

¹ Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.   Heb 11:1 (NIV)

 

¹⁷ Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.  Romans 10:17 (NIV)

 

Satisfied with our Lord’s reply that his son would live, our official takes Jesus at His Word and departs.  Faith is proved when acted upon. While he sees no sign or wonder, he believes “the Word made flesh” – the sincerity of his faith is evidenced by his departure for home.  While he did not receive what he asked for, he discovers that he receives much more – how like our Jesus!

While it is only human to want to see before we step out on the promises of God, God blesses those who believe yet have not seen.  The Hall of Faith listed in Hebrews chapter 11 confirms this Truth.  God oftentimes allows us to come to the end of our limited abilities and resources to show us the demonstration of His wondrous power.  From Genesis to Revelation we are given example after example of faith being purified through the process and gift of waiting.  Faith remains confident in God’s timing remembering that He is not idle during these prolonged periods rather working in us things that could not be produced in us otherwise – He is all about conforming us into the image of His Son.  There are rich advantages in our waiting and testings eventually proving unearthly in their joy. We are told in James:

 ² Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. ⁴ Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.   James 1:2-4 (NIV)

 

“If you cannot trust God for temporals, how dare you trust Him for spirituals?  Can you trust Him for your soul’s redemption, and not rely upon Him for a few lesser mercies?  Is not God enough for thy need, or is His all-sufficiency too narrow for thy wants?  Dost thou want another eye beside that of Him who sees every secret thing?  Is His heart faint?  Is His arm weary?  If so, seek another God; but if He be infinite, omnipotent, faithful, true, and all-wise, why gaddest thou abroad so much to seek another confidence?  Why dost thou rake the earth to find another foundation, when this is strong enough to bear all the weight which thou canst ever build thereon?  Christian, mix not thy wine with water, do not alloy thy gold of faith with the dross of human confidence.  Wait thou only upon God, and let thine expectation be from Him.”  C. H. Spurgeon

 

Believing Jesus at His Word, this official not only receives what He has asked for but so much more.  Not only does his son live but his entire household believes – thus proving yet again that Jesus’ actions are never whimsical but always purposeful – purposeful in our wait, purposeful in our pain, purposeful in our purification.

What I glean from this:

• Jesus wants me to take Him at His Word.  All the promises of Scripture are mine.
• My faith is proved when acted upon.
• Faith pleases God – “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”   Heb 11:6 (NIV)

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