March_30

SHARING BREAD

⁴ But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, ⁵ “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” ⁶ He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

John 12:4-6 (NIV)

Is it not interesting how far wicked men will go to diminish or belittle a worthy action?  Critical and constantly nattering spirits drain the life, not to mention the good or profitable deed, out of both the hearer and the doer.  In an effort to cover up their own gross inadequacies and insecurities, not to mention their evil thoughts and ways, bullies seek to belittle and embarrass those in their presence who are seeking to do the right thing.  Those who have fixed their focus to follow the Lord Jesus – doing the works that He would do – must be prepared to find their actions mocked and their motives depreciated.  Their words are as shards of cold judgments upon warm hearts to be sure.  Yet, if we do nothing until everyone is in praise of our actions, we will accomplish very little if any good in this world.  It is a great snare to worry about what others may think.  I love what John writes earlier regarding Jesus’ thought on man’s opinion:

²³ Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name. ²⁴ But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. ²⁵ He did not need man’s testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man.   John 2:23-25 (NIV)

 

In our verses for today, Judas, being one of their number but certainly not one of their natures, was quick to find a feigned fault with Mary’s sacrificial actions.  The pretence with which he covered his dislike was care for the poor, passing judgment on her pious zeal with his worldly wisdom.  Judas makes charity to the poor a cloak for his covetousness.  He did not care about the poor rather his interest lay in serving his own greedy ends.  He wanted the money and as keeper of the money bag, he dipped into it whenever he desired.    He had a reigning love in his heart for money and it became his downfall.  We are to beware of anything that reigns in our hearts besides the Lord Jesus.  His words on the Sermon on the Mount come to mind:

²⁴ “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”   Matt 6:24 (NIV)

 

The word translated “money” in the above verse is from the Greek word “Mamonas” and is defined as “the comprehensive word for every kind of valuable or material good”.  Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible, New Testament Lexical Aids.  The object of devotion – the material good or money or whatever, is not intrinsically bad it is the love (or lust) of it that is.  The priority it takes in one’s life.  It is the number one place we allow it in our hearts that is to be despised.  Paul tells us:

 

¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.   1 Tim 6:10 (NIV)

  

Judas was a thief and his job played right into his weakness.  He began by betraying the trust of the group which eventually succumbed to betraying the Master.  Oh the insidiousness of sin in a life!  It seems to grow and multiply faster and more silently than a cancer cell.  We must be constantly aware that where any man has fallen – turning back to loving the created rather than the Creator – going back to wallowing in the mud so to speak – there is a possibility for any of us to fall. 

“Always remain alert to the fact that where one man has gone back is exactly where anyone may go back.”    Oswald Chambers

 

Purity and holiness in a life is never automatic – it must be a constant pursuit.  We are not to become soft spiritually – letting our guards down of self control will open up the door for every sort of temptation towards evil.  None of us are above it.  Scripture tells us we are to train ourselves to be Godly:

⁷ Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. ⁸ For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.   1 Tim 4:7-8 (NIV)

Holiness is not a feeling – it is the end product of obedience.  Purity is not a gift – it is the result of repentance and serious pursuit of God.  Frances J. Roberts

 

What I glean from this:

• Evil men oftentimes belittle the worthy actions of others.  Caring too much about what man thinks of me will stymie good works in my life.  It is freeing to be living for God rather than to be burdened and controlled by the opinions of man.
• I cannot serve two masters.
• I am to pursue holiness. 

Read Full Post »

March_25

SHARING BREAD

¹ Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. ² Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. ³ Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

John 12:1-3 (NIV)

Returning to Bethany just six days prior to the Passover, our Lord is an honored guest at the home of Lazarus, Martha and Mary.  Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead, was eating and drinking and reclining at the table with Him – giving clear evidence of his resurrection.  Abounding proofs always exist in the wake of Jesus’ greatest miracles.  Lazarus’ reclining stood as a monument of the miraculous.  This demonstrates for us as well a faint glimmer of the future Marriage Supper of the Lamb does it not?  Hang with me here – we have Jesus Christ being honored, we have the believer who dies and is raised again (Lazarus) and we have those believing who are found alive when our Lord returns (Martha and Mary).    Paul tells us the following glorious truth:

¹³ Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. ¹⁴ We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. ¹⁵ According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage each other with these words.    1 Thess 4:13-18 (NIV)

Next we see the honor that was given Jesus by each sister according to their gifting.  Scripture succinctly tells us Martha served.  How like Martha!  Serving was her specialty and while before she may have served begrudgingly, she now serves her Lord with an attitude of gratitude and love.  What a lesson for us to learn as well.  Whatever we are called to do – be it mundane or grand – we are to do wholly as unto the Lord.  Indeed, He considers nothing as little if done in His name and for His glory.  Paul tells us in Colossians:

 ²³ Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, ²⁴ since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. ²⁵ Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism.     Col 3:23-25 (NIV)

“Teach me, my God and King, in all things Thee to see, and what I do in anything to do it as for Thee.”    George Herbert

“If by doing some work which the undiscerning consider ‘not spiritual work’ I can best help others, and I inwardly rebel, thinking it is the spiritual for which I crave, when in truth it is the interesting and exciting, then I know nothing of Calvary love.”   Amy Carmichael

Oftentimes it is the faithfulness of the saints in the small things – the mundane things – that will capture the attention of others and help to point them to the Lord.  The glam jobs can sometimes point to the vessel not to the One that empowers the vessel.  All believers are merely jars of clay holding the richest of all Treasures:

⁷ But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. ⁸ We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. ¹⁰ We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. ¹¹ For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body.  2 Cor 4:7-11 (NIV)

 Lastly, Mary shines forth in the sacrificial anointing of her Savior.  Her love was strong, sincere and grateful – nothing was too costly for her Master.  She wanted to give Him the highest honor regardless of the expense to herself.  Lavishly pouring her costly possession and wiping the excess with her hair she demonstrates for us exquisite love.  We would be wise to imitate her actions.  Do we have a “Will Not Do List” for God?  Have we placed a “Hand’s Off” sign on anything?  It greatly behooves us to give Him the freedom to our all.  What we cling to is merely an idol in our grasp and it is a demonstration of the lack of faith and trust not to mention love.  We, as believers in Christ, are not our own – we have been bought with a high price we are therefore, to honor God with our all.  Like King David who refused to offer God anything that did not cost him.  It is not a sacrifice if it does not cost.  Yet as we lavishly give, as Mary did in this case, we leave behind the aroma of Christ – a perfumed fragrance that fills the room.  By the way, we can never out give God – He is no one’s debtor.

¹⁴ But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. ¹⁵ For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. ¹⁶ To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?   2 Cor 2:14-16 (NIV)

 What I glean from this:

• There are always abounding proofs of Jesus’ miracles – I need only to open my eyes.
• Both Mary and Martha used their gifting to bring honor to Jesus.  I am to use my gifting to honor Jesus as well.
• A sacrifice always costs or it is not a sacrifice.

Read Full Post »

March_23

SHARING BREAD

⁵⁵ When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover. ⁵⁶ They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple area they asked one another, “What do you think? Isn’t he coming to the Feast at all?” ⁵⁷ But the chief priests and Pharisees had given orders that if anyone found out where Jesus was, he should report it so that they might arrest him.

John 11:55-57 (NIV)

As oil and water does not mix neither does will-worship nor ceremonial legalism mix with true godliness in a life.  These efforts may satisfy the flesh but they do not tend to promote behavior suited for a child of the King.  We are always so busy tending to outward appearances – seeking to impress man rather than God – while all the while harboring all sorts of evil and wickedness in our hearts.  We have become proficient in keeping the outside of our cups clean while the inside remains defiled.  We can even convince ourselves of our rightness.  Sadly, strictness regarding religious ceremony and utter recklessness regarding gross sin are quite compatible in many a heart.  Scripture tell us:

⁹ The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.  Who can understand it?   Jer 17:9 (NIV)

 Mark this and beware, divided hearts have a tendency to fall.  It is no wonder Paul gives us the following Truth regarding the eventual effects of ritualistic self imposed legalistic worship in Colossians:

²³ Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.   Col 2:23 (NIV)

 

God looks for the motive behind the action.  He cares nothing for the action done for man to see.  Indeed, God states through the prophet Jeremiah:

 

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 17:10 (NIV)

 

King David states the following Truth in Psalm 51 showing us a humbled spirit, which is fully penitent over sin, is what God desires and is looking for in a life:

¹⁶ You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.   Psalms 51:16-17 (NIV)

Nothing escapes God’s glance.  Impure hearts feigning righteousness is a mockery and is detestable in God’s sight.  Certainly Jesus came down the hardest on the Pharisees when He walked this earth.  They walked in pride with their long flowing robes keeping their tassels clean and wearing their masks of righteousness yet all the while their hearts remained filled with depravity.  Not only were they bringing themselves down but also those they ruled over.  Wicked rulers commonly make those under them instruments of their unrighteousness.  It is no wonder Jesus stated the following in the Sermon on the Mount which set the standard of Christ’s kingdom:

⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.   Matt 5:8 (NIV)

In our verses for today we see many of these Jews coming for ceremonial cleansing prior to the Passover yet all the while harboring murderous hearts.  The lot had been cast – their decision made, the Lord must die.  So while they came up to Jerusalem to be made ceremonial clean – purified prior to the Passover – their hearts remained set on evil. We find in the Gospel of Mark:

¹ Now the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some sly way to arrest Jesus and kill him.   Mark 14:1 (NIV)

 The order had been given – the ruling religious authorities wanted our Lord apprehended.  They were out for His blood and they would stop at nothing less.  Blind guides, hypocrites, blind fools preceded by many “Woe’s” are terms found in Matthew chapter 23 from Jesus’ lips regarding these guys.  Certainly not terms we should covet.    

 ²⁷ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. ²⁸ In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.”   Matt 23:27-28 (NIV)

³³ “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?”  Matt 23:33 (NIV)

 

“The more willing you are to own up to your sin, the more willing God is to forgive you.  When you come clean, God will clean your record.  If you are willing to use your lips for confession, you will find your Father willing to use His lips to kiss you”.   Paraphrased, Charles Spurgeon

What I glean from this:

• Will-worship and ceremonial legalism do not mix with godliness in my life.
• I must beware, my heart can deceive me.
• God desires for me to be broken over sin in my life not resigned to it. 

Read Full Post »

March_21

SHARING BREAD

⁵⁴ Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the Jews. Instead he withdrew to a region near the desert, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples.

John 11:54 (NIV)

Interestingly, in God’s perfect timing, sometimes it is necessary for us to be in the midst of happenings – smack dab in the center of the thick of things and sometimes He removes us from all  the  hoopla, surrounds us with our closest companions and offers us places of respite and refreshment.  Both are necessary in a life.  I am reminded of Jesus’ Words to His disciples when they were in earnest need of a break:

 ³⁰ The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. ³¹ Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”   Mark 6:30-31 (NIV)

Thankfully, our Lord constantly takes cognizance of our toils, trials and fears and provides suitable relief.  Rest and refreshment are held out to the weary and refuge for the terrified.  The most active servants of the Master cannot always be working at full steam but must remain aware of the limitations of their physical bodies.  Our Lord graciously cares for our bodies and considers its frame not only allowing us times of rest but also reminding us of resting. He is fully aware of our frailty.  King David tells us in Psalms:

¹³ As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; ¹⁴ for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.  Psalms 103:13-14 (NIV)

 

Solomon tells us also there is a time for everything – seasons when it is duty to retire and seasons when it is duty to go forward:

 

¹ There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:   Eccl 3:1 (NIV)

When our loads become too heavy where a straw would break the proverbial camel’s back, Jesus’ comforting Words to us in Matthew should come to mind encouraging us to come and sit at His feet:

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)

 

As we come to Jesus and sit at His feet through the study of His Word and learn from Him, following His example, we are both strengthened and satisfied.  Our encounters with Jesus bring rest and refreshment to our weary souls.  He thankfully meets us where we are.  There is no pretense when we meet with the Master – no masks.  His penetrating gaze pierces the crustiest of hearts helping us to see our need.  He stoops to teach us – giving milk to the babes and meat to those further in the Way.  He longs for us to take advantage of His offer of aid and of achieving power.  I am reminded of David’s words in Psalm 139:

¹ O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. ² You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.  ³ You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. ⁴ Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.   Psalms 139:1-4 (NIV)

It is also interesting to note as well that our Lord chose a season of quiet and seclusion as His last dwelling before His season of heaviest trial and suffering at the crucifixion. This sets for us a wonderful example of being alone and still before taking on a great work of God.  There was no parade or limelight in our Lords actions simply communion with His Father and private instruction to His closest companions in an obscure part of the country.   I think it is important to note that our seasons of rest are not seasons of inactivity rather seasons of filling.  It is Jesus’ desire for us to manifest more and more of the Holy Spirit’s achieving power, walking in the abundance of life is His desire for all His children.  It is the high way; it is the way of peace.  As we spend time in His Word and in prayer, as we empty ourselves of self and apply His Truth to our lives through His power, we grow up in Him.  The emptier our vessels of self the more capacity we have to receive from God.  This emptying of self and filling of the Holy Spirit is a necessity for a ministry of power.  It would do us all well to remember that apart from Christ we can do nothing of eternal value.  Producing fruit in keeping with repentance is done through His power alone.  Jesus tells us:

⁵ “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”   John 15:5 (NIV)

“Nearness to Christ, intimacy with Him, assimilation to His character – these are the elements of a ministry of power.”   Horatius Bonar

 

“Most of us get up in the morning saying, ‘I am going to make something of my life, and I’ll follow Jesus too.’  But I just want you to know that we can’t have it both ways.  We have to have the formula right.  ‘Follow Me,’ Jesus said, ‘and as you follow Me, I will make something of your life.’”  Joseph Stowell, III

 

“Let us work as if success depended upon ourselves alone, but with heartfelt conviction that we are doing nothing, and God everything.”
~ St. Ignatius Loyola

 

What I glean from this:

• There will be seasons of work and seasons of rest in my life as well as season of joy and of sadness and I am to glorify God through them all.
• Jesus is my rest Giver.  He makes my load light.
• I can do nothing of eternal value in my own strength – only through Christ’s power at work within me.    

Read Full Post »

March_18

SHARING BREAD

⁵¹ He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, ⁵² and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. ⁵³ So from that day on they plotted to take his life.

John 11:51-53 (NIV)

Caiaphas, the high priest, had previously miraculously prophesized such truthful words regarding the redemption of mankind through the death of Jesus yet all the while he remained unaware that his words were being directed by the Holy Spirit.  Christ would die not only for the Jews but also for the Gentiles – devout men of every nation who feared God and worshipped Him. 

“There are those who fear Him throughout all generations; to all these He had an eye in the atonement He made.  As He prayed, so He died, for all who should believe in Him.”  Matthew Henry

Caiaphas thought he was only speaking of putting Christ to death yet an overruling Power compelled him to say things of a far deeper meaning than he was conscious of.  His words proved true in a way that he never intended, wished or expected.  He was merely used as an instrument in God’s mighty hand.  I am reminded of the following truth in Scripture:

¹ The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.   Prov 21:1 (NIV)

What Caiaphas foretold was fulfilled albeit in a way totally unlike what he had ever imagined.  Marvelously, Jesus did die – not only for the benefit of the Jewish nation but also for God’s scattered children to make them all as one.  The prophet Isaiah prophesized regarding the Suffering Servant in the book that bears his name:

⁵ This is what God the LORD says– he who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it: ⁶ “I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, ⁷ to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.    Isaiah 42:5-7 (NIV)

 

⁶ he says:  “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”   Isaiah 49:6 (NIV)

Indeed, at the time of Jesus’ purification – according to the Law of Moses – when He was yet a small baby, we see this glorious prophecy spoken over our Lord.  Simeon a devout and righteous man who was awaiting the salvation of Israel and of whom Scripture states the Holy Spirit was upon stated the following when he held our Lord Jesus in his arms:

²⁸ Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: ²⁹ “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. ³⁰ For my eyes have seen your salvation, ³¹ which you have prepared in the sight of all people, ³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.”   Luke 2:28-32 (NIV)

 

“Amazing love, how can it be that You my God should die for me?”  Indeed, a Light for the Gentiles and glory for His people Israel.  Yet still, the unredeemed remain blind captives – staunchly choosing to wallow, imprisoned in the darkness of their self-wills.  Refusing freedom and both abundant and eternal life, they embrace bondage and death; choosing rather to stumble in the darkness when they could live in the light.        

“The inescapable spiritual need each of us has is the need to sign the death certificate of our sin nature.  I must take my emotional opinions and intellectual beliefs and be willing to turn them into a moral verdict against the nature of sin; that is, against any claim I have to my right to myself….Once I reach this moral decision and act on it, all that Christ accomplished for me on the Cross is accomplished.  My unrestrained commitment of myself to God gives the Holy Spirit the opportunity to grant to me the holiness of Jesus Christ.”   Oswald Chambers        

Lastly, we see the ease in which these evil men encourage one another in evil practices as Scripture tells us from then on they sought the life of the Savior.  What once they thought impracticable they now consider possible.  What they had once wished but could not find a plausible reason for they now deem justifiable.  Caiaphas’ stern and bold outspoken proposal carried the Council with him.  From that day forward it was a settled thing among the Jewish leaders – Jesus was to be put to death.

What I glean from this:

·       Thankfully, Christ died not only for the Jews but also for the Gentiles.

·       Jesus came to set the captives free.  I no longer have to remain in bondage to sin and death.

·       I must sign the death certificate of my sin nature – ²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Gal 2:20 (NIV)

Read Full Post »

March_16

SHARING BREAD

⁴⁹ Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! ⁵⁰ You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”

John 11:49-50 (NIV)

I find it incredibly interesting the vessels God chooses to use to bring forth His messages of Truth.   In our verses for today, unbeknownst even to the speaker, God uses the Jewish high priest Caiaphas to prophetically announce:  “You know nothing at all!  You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”

Now of course, Caiaphas meant nothing more by his words than the mere murder of Jesus.  Indeed, it was he that knew nothing at all!  It is amazing the blind ignorance with which God’s enemies often act and reason.  This high priest merely wanted our Lord out of the picture.  His motivating factor was simple:  better Jesus should die and save the nation from further trouble than live and have the nation be brought into trouble by Him.  He was totally unaware that the Holy Spirit compelled him – making use of his mouth, albeit unconsciously, to speak words which remarkably predicted the death of Christ and which would thereby offer hope and life in abundance to a lost and needy world. 

“God can and often does make wicked men instruments to serve His own purposes, even contrary to their own intentions.  Words of prophecy in the mouth are no infallible evidence of a principal of grace in the heart.  ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name?’ will be rejected as a frivolous plea.”    Matthew Henry

Since creation God has remained consistently persistent in His communication with us.  Jesus confirms Caiaphas words earlier in John:

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)

 

“God often uses the repetitive events and themes in daily life to get my attention and draw me closer to Himself. Now instead of just listening for God’s whisper, I am trying to recognize the sacred echoes- those moments when God speaks the same message to my heart again and again. I call them sacred echoes because I’ve noticed that throughout my relationships, daily life, and study, the same scripturally sound idea or phrase or word will keep reappearing until I can no longer avoid its presence. Is this mere coincidence or is it something more? When it comes to hearing from God, I firmly believe the Bible is our source and authority. God’s Word is like a megaphone to His people. Throughout Scripture God speaks through kings and queens, princes and prophets, poets and pilgrims. He speaks through weather patterns, barnyard animals and even the stars in the sky. God is not only creative, but He is persistent in getting our attention and communicating with us.”   The Sacred Echo by Margaret Feinberg

Indeed, here God uses an unbelieving high priest to make an incredible proclamation of hope, not only for the Jewish nation but for the benefit of all God’s children throughout the world.  Caiaphas’ words demonstrated the people had not yet reckoned their desperate need and furthermore that Christ came to fulfill that need.  Indeed, the word “perish” (which follows each name apart from Christ) used in verse 50 is from the Greek word “Apollymi” meaning “to utterly destroy, decimate, ravage, demolish, obliterate (not annihilate), wholly, completely and utterly.  Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible New Testament Lexical Aids.  This begs the question for us as well – have we realized our desperate need apart from Jesus and that He came to fulfill that very need?

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. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.   John 3:16-18 (NIV)

God’s motivation towards all people is love.  This love is demonstrated through the gift of His Son. Biblical love – God’s love – always finds expression through giving and the ultimate in giving is the giving of self.  Paul tells us in Romans:

⁶ You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.   Romans 5:6-8 (NIV)

² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all–how will he not also, along with ³him, graciously give us all things?   Romans 8:32 (NIV)

 

What I glean from this:

• God can speak to His people in a variety of ways and through a variety of vessels.  
• Jesus gives me hope and life in abundance.
• God demonstrated His love for us through giving.  

Read Full Post »

March_14

SHARING BREAD

⁴⁷ Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.

“What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. ⁴⁸ If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”

John 11:47-48 (NIV)

Isn’t it amazing the lengths flesh will go not to believe in the obvious – willingly shutting their eyes against the light received?  This presents to us a clear display of the desperate wickedness of man’s natural heart.  Having their hearts and minds fixed on earthly things, in the face of overwhelming evidence, they shut their eyes, refusing to be convinced of the Truth.  They readily admit Jesus performed many miracles yet refused to yield to his testimony plunging headlong into further wickedness.  They acknowledge His credentials yet all the while deny His commission.

“Man is now a horror to God and to himself and a creature ill-adapted to the universe not because God made him so but because he has made himself so by the abuse of his free will.”     C. S. Lewis

There is certainly nothing new under the sun.  I am reminded of God’s Word to Moses regarding the lack of belief the Israelites displayed:

¹¹ The LORD said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them?  Num 14:11 (NIV)

 

Certainly our verses for today prove that mankind can be privy to miraculous signs and wonders yet their hearts remain as hard as stone.  Man’s unbelief is a far more deeply rooted disease than common opinion holds true.  It is only the grace of God that melts the heart of stone.  This is reminiscent of Jesus’ Word when He told the story of the rich man and the beggar Lazarus.  As you are aware, the rich man lived in the lap of luxury unconcerned with those in his sphere.  Lazarus, covered in sores, was a beggar at this man’s gate and longed to eat what fell from his table.  Both die.  Lazarus goes to heaven carried by angels to Abraham’s side, the rich man to hell.  In torment, the rich man longs for Lazarus to dip his finger in water and come cool his tongue due to the agony of the fire – the arrogance remains evident does it not?  Abraham states the following:

²⁵ “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. ²⁶ And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’   Luke 16:25-26 (NIV)

The rich man replies with the following request which hits our point for today:

²⁷ “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father’s house, ²⁸ for I have five brothers.  Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’  ²⁹ “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’  ³⁰ “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’  ³¹ “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'”   Luke 16:27-31 (NIV)

 “No iron chain, or outward force of any kind, can ever compel the soul of a person to believe or to disbelieve.”    Thomas Carlyle

David writes in Psalm 32:

⁸ I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. ⁹ Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.   Psalms 32:8-9 (NIV)

 

“Always remain alert to the fact that where one man has gone back is exactly where anyone may go back.”    Oswald Chambers

 

Interestingly, that which the Pharisees stated they feared the end result would be from Jesus’ growing influence – the Romans coming and taking away their place and nation – was mere pretence.  Jesus had proclaimed His Kingdom was not of this world as well as He taught men to give tribute to Caesar – “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” (Matt 22:21 (NIV)). Yet they continued to rush madly on the path they had chosen and crucified our Lord.  Eventually, their feigned fears came to pass, the Roman army did come and destroy Jerusalem burning the temple and carrying the whole nation into captivity.     

“Only two things have ever changed the human soul: the fall and grace, the power of Satan and the power of God.  And God is infinitely more powerful.  Nothing is stronger than grace. Satan doesn’t have any. God is defined by it.”  Larry Crabb

What I glean from this:

• Unregenerate flesh will go to extremes not to believe in God’s Gift of salvation and be miraculously changed and saved.
• Only God’s grace can melt the heart of stone.
• I must remember that where one man has fallen is exactly where I may fall.  

Read Full Post »

March_11

SHARING BREAD

⁴⁵ Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him. ⁴⁶ But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.

John 11:45-46 (NIV)

I think it incredibly interesting, albeit unbelievably sad, that amongst the viewers of the miraculous work of our Lord we see those who believed and put their faith in Him and those who remained obstinately infidel – refusing to yield to one of the most powerful means of conviction.  Seriously, what does it take for some hardened hearts?  Sadly, unbelief has always been and will always be – until Christ returns that is.  Then every knee will bow before Him, whether forced or out of love and devotion.  Both had been privy to His power and His presence.  Both had been eyewitnesses to the account.  Both chose different roads – one the narrow which leads to life the other the wide leading to destruction.  Jesus tells us in Matthew:

¹³ “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. ¹⁴ But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.   Matt 7:13-14 (NIV)

 

“Luther was right: the root behind all other manifestations of sin is compulsive unbelief—our voluntary darkness concerning God, ourselves, his relationship to the fallen world and his redemption purpose… If the fall occurred through embracing lies, the recovery process of salvation must center on faith in truth, reversing this condition.”   Richard Lovelace, Renewal as a Way of Life 

 Works that are “Pala” – wondrous signs and miracles, God sized actions, things that are simply too hard for man to do, are given by God to point us back to Him.  This holds true throughout all of Scripture.  He moves mountains to move hearts.  We find in Exodus:

³¹ And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.   Ex 14:31 (NIV)

Indeed, in Old Testament times the nations were not so much afraid of the Israelites per se as the God of the Israelites.  The signs and wonders He displayed had unmistakably the finger marks of God all over them.  Oftentimes we are led by God into positions in which we find ourselves like the Israelites, helpless and often hopeless.  This is allowed in order to show us our desperate need for a Savior.  He is our deliverance and it is on Him that we can depend.  It is His desire for us to live a life of dependence on Him – not simply turning to Him in dire distress alone.  Yet human nature often forgets this.

“You cannot be your own Saviour, either in whole or in part.”   Hudson Taylor

“When we have exhausted our store of endurance, When our strength has failed ere the day is half done, When we reach the end of our hoarded resources, Our Father’s full giving is only begun.  His love has no limit; His grace has no measure.  His pow’r has no boundary known unto men; For out of His infinite riches in Jesus, He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again!”   Annie Johnson

When God’s deliverance occurs, He warns us to remember.  It is His desire for us to set up standing stones for reminders and to be faithful to tell our children of God’s faithfulness.  We are to pass on this truth because, quite frankly, human nature has a tendency to forget when things get easy and good and everything is smooth sailing.  I am reminded of Moses’ admonition to the Israelites prior to their entrance into the Promised Land:

¹⁰ When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you–a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, ¹¹ houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant–then when you eat and are satisfied, ¹² be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.  Deut 6:10-12 (NIV)

Instant prosperity carries with it an inherent danger.  It is easy for us to lose focus from Whose hand we have received such blessings.  We so badly want to take the credit!  Our hearts have a tendency to become proud and hardened.  We tend to forget the One who brought us to the dance.  I am certain that was the thinking behind the following Proverb:

⁷ “Two things I ask of you, O LORD; do not refuse me before I die: ⁸ Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.  ⁹ Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’  Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.   Prov 30:7-9 (NIV)e wat

What I glean from this:

• Unfortunately, two people can witness a miraculous moving of the Lord and one heart can be changed while the other remains hardened to the Truth.
•  The root behind all sin is compulsive unbelief.
• I am not only to remember but also to tell my children what Jesus has done for me.

Read Full Post »

March_09

SHARING BREAD

⁴³ When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” ⁴⁴ The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.

Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

John 11:43-44 (NIV)

He who called creation into being by his Word, who controls nature by His Word, indeed, who sustains all things by His powerful Word, here raises the dead to life by His Word as well – achieved by His own authority.  The writer of Hebrews states:

³ The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.   Heb 1:2-3 (NIV)

 

King David gives us the following Truth in Psalm 29 to which, I am confident Lazarus would exclaim a hearty “Amen!”

⁴ The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is majestic.   Psalms 29:4 (NIV)

 

I think it interesting that Augustine once quipped that if Jesus had not specifically stated Lazarus’ name, all would have come out of their graves.  Scripture cites other examples where our Lord raised the dead with His Word as well thus giving forth added public proof that our Lord had absolute power over the material world.  The only son of a widow in Nain found in Luke:

¹¹ Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. ¹² 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.” ¹⁴ Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” ¹⁵ The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.  Luke 7:11-15 (NIV)

 

The daughter of Jairus the synagogue ruler:

⁴⁹ While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. “Your daughter is dead,” he said. “Don’t bother the teacher any more.”  ⁵⁰ Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.” ⁵¹ When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child’s father and mother. ⁵² Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. “Stop wailing,” Jesus said. “She is not dead but asleep.” ⁵³ They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. ⁵⁴ But he took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up!” ⁵⁵ Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. ⁵⁶ Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.   Luke 8:49-56 (NIV)

 

Yet this scene at Lazarus’ tomb seems even more spectacular.  Lazarus had been buried for four days, his flesh already beginning to decompose.  Jesus orders the stone to be removed.  With mouths and eyes of the onlookers as wide open as the tomb, Jesus calls forth the dead to life.  Immediately, Lazarus’ emerges all wrapped in the cloak of death, fettered and encumbered with grave clothes.  Jesus’ first Words to the onlookers being:  “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”  Free him from what drags him down, hampering his steps which would cause him to stumble and fall.  What a picture of our own salvation.  Those who are saved have been called out of darkness into His marvelous light.  Peter tells us:

⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. ¹⁰ Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.   1 Peter 2:9-10 (NIV)

Like Lazarus, we are to take off the old clothes of sin and death which inevitably causes us to stumble and fall adorning the new through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit.  We are to be new creations in Christ.  Paul states in Colossians:

 ⁵ Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. ⁶ Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. ⁷ You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. ⁸ But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. ⁹ Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices ¹⁰ and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.   Col 3:5-10 (NIV)

 

¹² Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³ Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴ And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.   Col 3:12-14 (NIV)

 

The life of our souls is in the blood of our Savior.  Jesus is our Savior, our Sacrifice, our Sanctifier, our Sufficiency, and our Sovereign. He clearly tells us:

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)

What I glean from this:

• Jesus sustains all things by His powerful Word.
• Jesus brings the dead to life by His Word both physically and spiritually.
• Jesus is my Savior, my Sacrifice, my Sanctifier, my Sufficiency and my Sovereign.

Read Full Post »

March_07

SHARING BREAD

⁴¹ So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. ⁴² I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”

John 11:41-42 (NIV)

Speaking audibly to God in the hearing of the crowd – having His gaze fixed upward toward heaven – our Lord commences His prayer prior to the working of His mightiest miracle.  There was certain unity with His Father in all that He did and in all that He taught.  Jesus’ gesture of looking toward heaven is significant indeed – He looks above the difficulty straight to the Solution – demonstrating to us the proper focus of our soul in prayer. 

“He looked up.  What is prayer, but the ascent of the soul to God, and the directing of its affections and motions toward heaven?”   Matthew Henry

I am first reminded – and perhaps a bit convicted – by these verses of the great importance of cultivating a sincere and passionate attitude of gratitude in my life.  Through Jesus’ perfect example of believing prayer, we see that He begins with the simple act of thanksgiving.  I am reminded of Paul’s exhorting words in Philippians:

⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.   Phil 4:6 (NIV)

 

“Cultivating a grateful heart is not just an add-on nicety, a civil tip of the hat to God as we steamroll through our day. A posture of purposeful, perpetual thanks to God is absolutely central to Christian character. It gives glory to Him. It is the key defense against Satan’s temptations to despair, distrust, dysfunction. It protects us from sin and self. It is the hallmark of heaven. It does not exist in hell”……“Hot gratitude melts our hard pride. It is the means of remaining in Christ.”    Ellen Vaughn

Secondly, we see in these verses that when the miraculous is demonstrated, it is to point us to God.  It is the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit that is to receive the glory – not man.  We are to be ever leery if we begin to see too much flesh glistening and nothing pointing us to God. Flesh should get a grip. We are to fear the Lord, we are to revere Him.  He is the One who spoke and it came to be, He is the One who commands and it stands firm.  It reminds me of King David’s question demonstrating for us the correct attitude of man in comparison to Almighty God:

⁴ what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? Psalms 8:4 (NIV)

 

Psalm 33 states:

¹³ From heaven the LORD looks down and sees all mankind; ¹⁴ from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth– ¹⁵ he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.  ¹⁶ No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. ¹⁷ A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save.   ¹⁸ But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, ¹⁹ to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.   Psalms 33:13-19 (NIV)

Man has such a tendency to glorify man while God silently waits and stays His omnipotent hand. Yet He will not always remain silent nor will His hand always be stayed, there will be a day of reckoning that we can be certain of.  All the while, it is His desire for us to turn to Him, to be reconciled to Him through His Son.  Thus, through signs and wonders He shows Himself strong – ever desirous to get our attention.  I am reminded of the Prophet Elijah on Mount Carmel when he dueled with the “distractions” of the people of his day.  Calling the prophets of Baal and Asherah to a show-down on top of the mountain and in full view of the people from all over Israel, Elijah, through the power of God, demonstrates a mighty miracle.  The prophets of Baal and Asherah were, of course, dismal failures in their frantic efforts.  The prayer Elijah prays in the hearing of all has the same flavor as our Lords:

³⁶ At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. ³⁷ Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”   1 Kings 18:36-37 (NIV)

 

Guess what?  God acted – He moved His mighty hand in response to the prayer of a prophet of flesh and blood and the people turned:

³⁸ Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.  ³⁹ When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The LORD–he is God! The LORD–he is God!”   1 Kings 18:38-39 (NIV)

Do it again, Lord.  Turn the hearts of the people back to you.

What I glean from this:

• In prayer, the focus and affections of my soul should be directed toward heaven.
• I am to cultivate an attitude of gratitude as this is pleasing to God.
• Man is not omnipotent and is incapable of doing God’s work apart from God’s powers.  God’s work done in God’s way never lacks God’s supply.  God delights in equipping His saints for His workings in order for him to do the impossible so that God ultimately receives all the glory and man’s heart is turned back to Him.  Man is most satisfied when God is most glorified.

Read Full Post »