Do you sometimes feel a bit untethered? Wandering off into the wilderness and you’ve forgotten the way back to the trail? Or maybe you are scrambling over the boulders of fear, anxiety and hopelessness. It wouldn’t be surprising given what’s been thrown at us in 2020. But God is the Prince of Peace. That doesn’t mean He’s the “prince of no conflict and no tribulations.” It means when we are in closer communion with Him, we experience the fruits of His spirit – kindness, joy, love, patience, goodness, faithfulness and yes, peace. This is His promise.
Join me starting December 7 as we explore just 25 of the 1,000s of God’s promises found in His Holy Word. Promises to hold on to for hope and for peace.
If you were to Google “Jesus’ last words” what you would get is a long list of references to Jesus’ last words on the cross and their meaning. And while those last words are very important, if we think those were His actual last words recorded in the Bible we miss the amazing glory of who Jesus really is.
“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.”
REvelation 22:16-17
Jesus wasn’t just about the physical man here on earth. He is so much more. The book of Revelation, written by John, reveals God’s plans and purposes for His church. It’s is the revelation of Jesus. According to Dr. Merrill Tenney, Jesus is the chief subject of Revelations. Christ is the exalted priest. And three times in the last chapter of Revelations Jesus interrupts John with His words.
These last amazing words of Jesus in the Bible are also the last of my commentary on Living Amazed through Jesus. And appropriately so. Looking back over all the topics they can all coalesce into two words – follow Him. We can thank God, Jesus and His Holy Spirit every single day that the prophesy of Jesus’ return has yet to be fulfilled. Why? Because we still have a lot of His work to accomplished. God is giving us an opportunity to not only get our own lives in line with Jesus’ amazing ways but to also share with as many people as possible about the savior.
These last few words of Jesus should be at the front of every church. Let anyone who is thirsty come and take the free gift of living water that only He can provide. He has designed us to be His hands and feet to bring sinners into this amazing grace.
“Indeed, when the church lives in expectancy of Christ’s return, such an attitude provokes ministry and evangelism as well as purity of heart.”
Warren Wiersbe
As I have grown in my faith, I find it odd that there are “traditional” churches and “evangelical” churches. It’s clear in Jesus’ last (and many other teachings) Bible words we are all to take up the mantel of “evangelical.” I was discussing this topic in one of my Bible studies the other night about sharing the gospel with others. One friend said she doesn’t feel comfortable “opening that door” with people. I shared how I am praying every single day for just one believer to “open that door” to my eldest daughter. I know God is asking me to be a good example for her but I also know He is seeking someone else to bring her to Christ.
Aren’t there numerous people in your life that you hope would accept Jesus as their savior? It’s hypocritical of us to pray for a miracle in someone’s life if we aren’t willing to be that miracle.
Of all the amazing things Jesus said and did throughout the Bible He was always clear on our role in God’s Kingdom. We are to help gather up as many as possible and place them solidly in His hands. Our job has never been to sit nicely in church, enjoy a few songs and hear a good speech. It’s to be compelled to share His amazing love with the world.
Thank you for joining Madison and me on this journey through Living Amazed. Please join me starting December 7 for my next series, “Hold the Line: 25 Promises of God.”
Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.”They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery. But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, amazed by the great signs and miracles he saw.
Acts 8:9-13
It’s my guess that before many of us heard Jesus’ words in Matthew 10:39, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it”, we all thought we were some level of great.
It’s okay, you can admit it. I will too. Before knowing Jesus, our lives were centered around the greatness of self. Achieving selfish desires and seeking after things that would fulfill and establish a name for ourselves. I know before I knew Christ, I was on a slippery slope of idolization of self-value and worth – mainly in what others thought of me. I so desperately wanted to be like Simon. I wanted to be looked upon by those low and high with great respect, reverence and awe. I thought that if I could just attain a certain level of status with those I looked up to most, then certainly, I would be fulfilled.
As described in the text, Simon had great fame amongst the people of Samaria. Those who knew him even thought he was god-like. He had all eyes on him, all the time. He knew how to command a room and keep their attention with amazing and impressive acts of sorcery and magic. Surely, this was the peak of Simon’s life. He had great influence over those who looked up to him. The people listened to him and were continuously amazed by him.
Are you looking for glitz to influence or God?
But one day, Simon found the attention of the people was no longer in the palm of his hands. Someone else was stealing the show…
Philip had stolen the attention of his audience with the truth of the gospel. Now all of a sudden, the people were more interested in hearing about Jesus, rather than seeing Simon’s sorcery, and Simon was too.
Miraculously, Simon was also among the many who were touched by Philip’s faithfulness to share the gospel everywhere he went. Simon became a follower of Philip and chose to no longer be a chief producer of propaganda for himself, but a disciple of Jesus, and one who laid down his “greatness” to serve the one and only Great God.
Many of us look at Simon’s life before Christ and think, “Man, he had it all.” I mean, being a magician is no noble or holy position, but he had the love and respect of the people — two things every human being deeply long for more than anything else. The fact of the matter is, the influence Simon had on those people was superficial, surface level and would only last for a while until they found their next source of entertainment. His influence didn’t have deep roots in their hearts, it wasn’t truth-centered.
The same goes with the superficial influence many of us THINK will make a lasting impact on others. We want the status, the attention and the glamour, but in reality all of that, will amount to nothing.
True, deeply-rooted influence on others takes time. It takes a gospel-centered approach that puts the others’ hearts and souls first. It takes laboring in love, sacrificing time and resources and really listening to what the other person has to say. Simon may have captured the attention of the townspeople, but it didn’t take much for someone like Philip, who brought both truth and love, to steal their attention.
Now, loving others and sharing the gospel is certainly no popularity contest. But, establishing effective and genuine and amazing influence is key to making strides for the Kingdom.
So, what kind of influence have you been attempting to have on others? Do you seek glitz and glamour like Simon? Or, have you sought genuine, amazing relationships that are truth-based like Philip?
Consider those around you who look up to you and think of how you can take one step towards influencing them towards Christ-centeredness today.
As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.
He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”
They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
“What things?” he asked.
“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”
He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken!Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?”
Luke 24:16-26
Depending on how Messianic scholars classify the prophesies in the Old Testament about the coming of Jesus, you will find between 200 and more than 400 statements about the Son of God becoming a man to teach us and be our ultimate sacrifice. Given that information, which was taught throughout the Jewish faith, you have to wonder why anyone at the time of Jesus’ death didn’t understand what was going on. It shouldn’t have been a surprise that He would also be resurrected. Yet disciple after disciple, woman and man, we see either their disbelief or shocking amazement when Jesus stood with them after His death.
But we can’t be too hard on those people of old. I mean we have 1,000s of years of Bible study, the hindsight of the entire New Testament, and more Bible scholars and preachers than we could ever count explaining the connections and the truths of this amazing story. And yet so many of us, even Christians, have a hard time truly accepting that Jesus is with us, even today. He stands in front of us with an open hand almost pleading with us to surrender and follow Him. He stands next to us, holding our hand, as we take scary, daring steps of faith. And He stands watch over us guiding and protecting us. When we fully accept that Jesus is our Lord and Savior, we can feel His constant, amazing presence.
I heard a sermon the other day by Joyce Meyer called, “What is Faith?” In it she encourages those whose families are grown and left the nest, who have lost spouses, who feel as though no one loves them, to grasp on to the knowledge that Jesus is ever-present in our lives. He is with us when we go to the grocery store. He is with us when we sit and watch a sunset. He is with us when we lie down, alone, in our beds.
I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
John 18:22-23
When we read the verses today in Luke 24, we might gloss over the fact that Jesus had already died. What happened on that road to Emmaus could have just as easily been written today. There was nothing special about the two men to which Jesus appeared. They are you and me. We can leave church or a Bible study waxing philosophical about the amazing presence of Jesus “way back when” and completely miss that He is walking right there with us!
I once heard a woman in a Bible study say to the group, “How come God doesn’t talk to us like He did in the Bible?” I found it fascinating that this person has somehow missed the prolific authors who have received urgings and messages from the Holy Spirit. She somehow has ignored all the testimonials she has heard in church from people who have been miraculously saved. She somehow missed my own telling, to that very group, of my Jesus vision.
“Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”
John 4:48
Are you ignoring Jesus’ amazing, constant presence? Has he walked along with you, sat at your dinner table and you didn’t acknowledge it was Him? Are you looking for a burning bush outside your door to speak in a Charlton Heston-esque voice to make decisions for you? I’m not saying that won’t happen but Jesus’ character is a lot more quiet and gentle. He wants you to have the “ah ha moment” like the men in our story today. He leads you, tiny step by step to clearing the mud from your eyes and ears. And if you will only accept the burning bush as “proof” of His presence you will surely miss Him along the path.
In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:1
This week, on one of the Instagram accounts I follow, the site owner posed the question: What good thing happened to you this year? She added, “Let’s spread some gratitude vibes.” My answer? That my faith has gotten so much more in-depth and stronger. Amazing, given what’s all happened in 2020. I no longer have a home church. In fact, I haven’t been to church since the last weekend of February. When I questioned my church closing indefinitely, I was met with some pretty nasty responses. And when I asked to be removed from the rolls I received an email from the assistant pastor with a polite version of “don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”
So, it’s pretty amazing that without a body of faithful Christians to help in my growth that I am where I am today.
When I looked over this week’s post by Madison and myself, I realized that my growth was reflected in the lessons. The acceptance of God’s amazing interruptions – knowing He works all things for my good. The acknowledgement of His amazing authority over all situations – yes, even the ones that don’t seem to make any sense. The proof that He loves me by reading the Book of John. And how much my picture of Jesus has changed these last few months – from a historical figure to a spirit that lives inside me.
My devotional this week had a day titled, “What to do when trouble comes.” It’s based on 1 Timothy 6:17 which states, “Fight the good fight of the faith.” It went on to say that trouble is a part of life, so we simply have to be ready for it. (Joyce Meyer, New Day, New You). A friend told me the other day she wishes she could just fast forward to 2022. My response? “Why? There might be a nuclear fallout that year. So, you might as well find joy in today.”
How do we, as Christians, get prepared? How do we build up our amazing faith muscle for that day when trouble comes, because it most certainly will? And looking at this week’s blog posts the answer is clear – steeping ourselves in God’s Holy Word.
I find myself extremely blessed to have started a small Bible study group – they’re my BSGs (Bible study girls) – back in January. I was encouraged by one of the members to re-start a study group. On an urging by the Holy Spirit, I invited two other women from my gym. They eagerly said yes. So, the four of us embarked on a journey we had no idea would be an anchor for us this year. We started out with easy faith muscles and moved up to weightier topics. These three women became my church. My amazing sisters in Christ. It wasn’t just about having women that wanted to get together. We’ve put in the work. We’ve been diligent in our faith workouts. We’ve dug deep not only into His Word but into our own sins.
I’ve led other Bible studies before. There’s always a few that blow off doing the homework and not take it seriously. Then there’s others that aren’t willing to take the opportunity to open themselves up for conviction. If we truly want to know God’s character, not ours, and God’s will, not ours, we need to use His Divine Word as our touchstone. The world longs to cheat us out of the true, amazing, love God has for us. The world plays a shell game with morality. If we want to grab on to the more than 5,000 promises God makes in the Bible then we need to treat it seriously.
Did you need to re-read that last sentence? More than 5,000 promises. How many of them do you know? How many of them have you taken to heart? Those amazing promises are sitting right there in that book.
Jesus asked, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”
Matthew 9:28
Let’s be a church together and dive deep into those promises. Let’s be a church together that accepts His interruptions with joy and peace. Let’s be a church together that places His authority over everything in our lives. Let’s be a church that needs no other proof of His love for us than our own existence. Let’s be a church together that sees Jesus for who He is – our Lord and Savior who loves us and wants for us to live apart from what the world throws at us. Today we can open up His Word and find joy right there on its pages.
Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”
“Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he was saying to them.
Luke 2:41-50
Who have you believed Jesus to be?
The world has so many depictions of what Jesus “looks like.” White Jesus, Black Jesus, Buddha Jesus, Italian Jesus — it seems as though everyone has taken their idea of Jesus and made it reflect their own image. This practice is a dishonoring habit by churches everywhere who spend so much time painting Jesus to reflect their faces, instead of painting themselves to look more like Jesus.
No matter where you are at in your walk with Christ, I think it’s safe to say we’ve all had different perspectives of who Jesus is. For me, I’ve always thought of him as a Mediterranean- looking trim man with brown flowy locks. I can thank several movies and documentaries for that image. I’ve also thought of him as God’s Son who sits on a seat lower than God, answers to His requests and working as the hands and feet of God’s Kingdom — another misconception that again, devalues the full power and glory of Christ. Why? Because Jesus isn’t less than God or inferior. Jesus is God as a part of the Trinity. Three-in-One, Father, Spirit, Son. Jesus sits at the right hand of God (Mark 16:19) and was present at creation (Genesis 1:26).
See, here in Luke 2, Jesus’ parents knew he was a seed planted in Mary by God, but they still couldn’t wrap their heads around what that really meant. When they lost Jesus in the crowds in Jerusalem, they searched tirelessly for Him everywhere but one place – the temple. If they truly understood who Jesus was, that would’ve been the first place they looked. But to them, all they could see was their young son who was just a little boy. Where could he possibly have gone? Once found, they were amazed at what they were seeing. That same little boy was teaching/preaching in the temple courts, communing with His Father.
Duh, where else would He be?
I challenge you to ask yourself this: What lies/misconceptions/myths are you believing about Jesus? And how are those misconceptions hindering you from being truly amazed by his power and presence in your life? Where are you looking for Jesus and missing Him, when in reality, you simply need to go to the Father to find Him?
The best way to find out who Jesus REALLY is, is to read through His words and interactions with others in the gospels. Study His character and you will discover God’s character. Study His love and you will understand God’s love. Study His kindness, grace and compassion and you will see what an amazingly kind and compassionate God we serve.
Knowing Jesus means knowing the Father – I encourage you to get to know Him today.
Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. 26 Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”
Luke 5:18-26
“Follow the science.” “Believe in science.” Sound familiar? And yet throughout this year “science” seems to not be the concrete “savior” so many want it to be. I once had a woman tell me she wears her mask to “show her love for me” because science says it’ll somehow save me that she is wearing a mask. While I’m not here to debate wearing or not wearing a mask I can tell you that her wearing a mask doesn’t prove to me she loves me. I’m appreciative when someone doesn’t sneeze or cough in my face but I don’t consider that a proof of their love for me either – it’s just courteous.
We are a people that love proof. So often the proof we desire is that which validates our own opinions – even in the face of completely opposite proof. My father is an atheist. While I don’t expect everyone to suddenly be a Christian, the idea of not believing there is a Divine Entity that had its hand it creating us and the universe seems so, well, unscientific. But just like the pharisees and teachers of the law in the verses today, sometimes we just have a hard time believing even when something amazing is happening right in front of our face. They were so focused on their twisted version of the Law they couldn’t even allow the people to glorify God when faced with miracles.
And then Jesus. Just the simple fact that the paralytic man’s friends knew that if they could just get him close to Jesus, he would be healed was amazing. Where was their proof? To passersby watching them up on the roof trying to lower him down might have scoffed and thought they were crazy. But to the friends, they had only heard of Jesus’ miracles and put their faith in the unknown. For the people inside the house watching Jesus heal the man they had all the proof they needed as to who He was. And yet their sticking point was Jesus forgiving the man’s sins. The healing proof still wasn’t enough for them.
I so frequently see things in nature, not just the amazing ecosystem God created for us humans to survive, but also the heart wrenching beauty and think, “How can anyone not believe there is a God?” What more proof do they need? Our bodies are fine tuned to this earth. The circular systems of creating breathable air, water to drink, food to eat, and sunshine and darkness for our bodies to succeed are really all the proof we should need.
My husband and I got four baby chicks back in March. They are now big, beautiful ladies that lay eggs daily. I asked my husband the other day, “Is there any other animal on this planet that works so hard to feed us humans?” The chicken, according to the Smithsonian, dates back between 7,000 to 10,000 years. It’s mentioned both in the Old and New Testaments. And if you look up a picture of the innards of a chicken you’ll see it is quite simple. In fact, it seems its sole purpose it to lay eggs. There’s really nothing fancy and yet they are amazingly fascinating. The process by which an egg ends up being an egg seems magical. And yet it happens every, single day. Each time I collect eggs I thank the ladies for their hard work. Because I know the next step for that egg will be something delicious – nourishment for my husband before he heads off to work, a small but important part in homemade cinnamon rolls, the key ingredient to a souffle. The chicken was made specifically to lay eggs – fertilized or not. And we were made to eat them.
And yet we still want proof. When I hear non-believers ask for proof I just smile. They are their own proof. Their amazingly complicated body system – the most complicated of all the animals on the planet – that’s their proof. Every breath we take, that’s our proof. And the fact that we are the only species to yearn for a purpose on this globe, to question why we are here, is even more proof. Sometimes the proof we seek is in the absence of something. For the pharisees, they wanted proof that Jesus could forgive sins. And yet they witnessed a God-given miracle right in front of their faces.
Goose bumps evolved to make our ancestors’ hair stand up, making them appear more threatening to predators.
As you breathe, most of the air is going in and out of one nostril. Every few hours, the workload shifts to the other nostril.
Your tongue is made up of eight interwoven muscles, similar in structure to an elephant’s trunk or an octopus’s tentacle.
On a genetic level, all human beings are more than 99 percent identical.
25 Amazing Facts About the Human Body by Mental Floss
How much amazing proof are you overlooking every day? Every single minute of every single hour we take a breath, God proves His existence. The “science” surrounds us. It is us. We are His amazing proof.
And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”
The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.
Mark 11:17-18
Recently, during a road trip my husband and I were listening to the Robertson’s Unashamed podcast. The topic was the concept of being “cancelled” by society. In 2014, GQ magazine contacted the Duck Dynasty patriarch, Phil Robertson, to delve into this bearded phenomenon. During the interview he was asked for the definition of sin. He went on to quote 1 Corinthians 6:9-10.
Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
1 Cor 6: 9-10
And he got cancelled. Literally. The producers put the show on hiatus – for quoting the Bible. Now, of course, we all can imagine the uproar. The media quoted Mr. Robertson as though it were his own words, calling him a homophobe and all sorts of names. Very few, in fact only a newspaper out of London, made it clear he was quoting from the Bible. As we like to say now, it was a lot of fake news. The truth was so easily accessed and so readily ignored. Here was a man who had few, if any secrets – and absolutely none about his faith journey. He was on an internationally televised show praying and preaching. And yet amazingly enough the media seemed shocked he believed in, taught, and quoted the Bible.
Jesus, in Mark 11, walks into the temple in Jerusalem and begins driving out the street vendors. When questioned by the chief priests He makes it clear what God expects from the people and the use of His temple. The priests were so frightened by the truths being spoken to the people that they wanted Jesus “cancelled.” But do you notice the last part of the sentence? “…because the whole crowd was amazed at His teaching.” The people wanted to know the true Word of God and they listened with rapt attention. It frightened those in charge of their probable loss of power over the people.
What Phil Robertson is comfortable with is teaching the true Word of God to the people. Human sin is at the beginning through the end of the Bible. And much as we might like to, we aren’t to pick and choose from which sins God has spoken. The truth of sin is written in every single book of the Bible. When our pastors and faith leaders ignore these truths, it handicaps us in our full understanding of God’s character and His expectations of us.
My husband and I were talking about this after listening to the Unashamed podcast. If we never hear that we are all sinners, we are left with the impression that maybe only some people sin or there’s various levels of sinfulness. It isn’t just “those people” who are sexually immoral, who lie, who cheat, who create false idols. It’s all of us to one extent or another. That’s the truth. I’ve never met someone in all the various Bible study and small groups that hasn’t admitted to some kind of sin. But that’s only the first step to God’s amazing truths.
When the apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth he chastised them for their lax ways related to sin, especially sexual sin. It was being justified through false teachings. And it was tearing them apart. If we don’t learn about sin how can we then learn true grace and forgiveness? I want to be on the “right side” of God – not making up my own understandings. When our faith leaders avoid uncomfortable conversations like abortion, homosexuality, infidelity, etc how then are we lay people to fully understand how to treat people with grace, love, kindness and forgiveness? All are welcome to church but what does it mean to welcome someone who is sinning right now? What does it mean to have been sexually immoral or have had an abortion and now I want to live a Christian life?
I sin constantly. When I make a commitment to God to not use His name in vain and then turn around and cuss and use coarse language I’m sinning. I have a very difficult time honoring my parents and not trashing them to my inner circle (heck, even my outer, outer circle). I encouraged a friend to have an abortion. I lived with my husband before we were married. I’m prideful. I covet. I place idols above God. None of these make me any better or worse than those who commit the sins we tend to think as the “biggies.” And yet we dance around the truth of sin and its effects on our lives and the world.
God is the Alpha and Omega. He is always complete. He is always teaching us and bringing us full circle. We need to live in that completeness. The completeness that His amazing truths, as revealed in the Bible, tell us includes opening our eyes to sin AND our hearts to grace. Grace without the “what and why” is almost meaningless. It’s like a teenager tossing a snide “sooooorrrryy.” We want that teenager to understand what was wrong about their action and why. The apology, when spoken from the heart, means so much more. If we run around tossing out blind acceptance, thinking it is love and grace, we miss out on the opportunity to really dig into God’s amazing plan for us.
I want to be held to account by God. I want to be amazed by the truths written in His Book. And if knowing and speaking those truths to fellow Christians or people asking me what God says about a topic then so be it. Because I am learning the complete truth. I am learning each day how to have open eyes tied to an open heart. His amazing truths about my sin are made complete with His amazing truths about His love.
“Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.” Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!” This amazed them. But Jesus said again, “Dear children, it is very hard to enter the Kingdom of God. In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!” The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked. Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.” Then Peter began to speak up. “We’ve given up everything to follow you,” he said. “Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News, will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property—along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life. But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.”
Mark 10:29-31
There was one point in my life – actually a few weeks ago (I hate to admit) – where I would sit on my couch in utter angst and anxiety. No, not about important things, but about wall décor. Yup, you heard it. I would sit on my couch with anxiety about the lack of cute, trendy wall décor and decorations in my apartment. I was so anxious about what people would think of us when they came over, I was so anxious about having cute Fall décor before “Pumpkin Spice Season” hit. What was I going to do? Hobby Lobby FOR SURE by now has already off-loaded all of their Fall décor for Christmas stuff – the best stuff has already been bought and picked through. What was I going to do? As my heart rate started to rise, I heard the Lord say to me “Do you think I care about any of this?” My anxious thoughts stopped. I listened and heard again – “Do you think the things on your walls are treasures you will store in Heaven?” Woah – I heard the message loud and clear.
I was toiling over useless, temporary, meaningless possessions INSTEAD of spending that time storing up REAL treasures in Heaven. I was convicted.
Now, I’m not saying decorating your house or shopping at Hobby Lobby is a sin. What I am saying is to consider the weight we put on those things. I’m asking us to consider if we’ve made material things idols in our lives.
Jesus’ words in Mark 10:29-31 cut me deep to the core – I hope they do for you too. These verses stir me to ask myself, “How much of my life is spent toiling over temporary gains?” Reading Jesus’ words over again alleviate many of my silly – yet very real – anxieties about possessions and material things. We must remember that the Lord God does not look upon us and see the things we’ve collected, the money we’ve made or the beautiful house we’ve decorated for Fall. No – He sees His son standing as an eternal sacrifice for our sins. He sees us as his prodigal children whom He loves.
This truth truly amazes me. As the world tells us that we need this, we need that – this will give you favor in the eyes of man and this will surely bring you pleasure and happiness – God says lay it all down. Give it all up. And for those of you that ask, “Does He really mean ALL of it?” I would say – to some extent – yes. Our first fruits (earnings) should always go to the Lord, and as Jesus said in Luke 16:
“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.”
Luke 16:10
No servant can serve two masters, for 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 God and money.”
Luke 16:13
If I am covetousness of what little I have – how much more will sin grow within my heart the more I gain? The Lord was speaking a very important truth to me that day. For material things are not of ANY value to Him. He wants my heart. He wants my attention. He wants my full dedication – things that cost nothing – but everything at the same time.
The disciples couldn’t believe what Jesus was saying. For their entire lives they saw the Chief Priests and Kings lavished with riches and luxuries. To them, those were the people who were closest to God. They were experiencing a real-time paradigm shift. You mean to say that now the lame, the weak, the poor are the blessed? Not the rich and noble? Pretty amazing stuff!
What Jesus was getting at here is that the more possessions one has, the more divided his heart becomes. The more his money has gone to things other than Kingdom purposes. He warned his disciples loud and clear that being rich was not the way into the Kingdom of God. No, it was intimacy with the Father, sacrifice and a dedication to seeing salvation sweep across the nations.
So – why are we so enthralled by things of this Earth? I urge you to spend time in prayer today asking God to reveal what you’ve been idolizing recently. I pray that the next time you find yourself coveting someone else’s possessions, you direct your thoughts, your anxieties and worries to the amazing God-given things above – blessings that will reward you many treasures in Heaven.
After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”). At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.
Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
Mark 7:33-37
I love this story. Not just because it’s a bit humorous in nature, I mean c’mon, Jesus didn’t HAVE to spit and touch the man’s tongue to heal him or shout to the heavens to cure his deafness. He could have healed the man with no words and no actions, with just one look. But Jesus’ actions show that He truly knew the hearts of the people. He had seen over and over again just how feeble the people were in their faith. He knew they needed clear evidence that He was who He said He was.
Even more amazing than Jesus concealing his immediate power to tend to the hearts of the people is the immediate authority he has over disease. The verses claim that at the sound of His voice, deafness falls and lameness disappears. In the face of Jesus, darkness cowers in fear.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:5
Just as this verse reminds us of Jesus’ power over the dominion of darkness, let it also be a reminder that what He speaks will be done. Even more amazing, everything on earth and in heaven bows to His authority, because he is the one who created it all (Gen. 1:1).
Jesus told the man’s ears to open and they opened. Jesus told Peter that there would come a day when he would deny him three times – and that day came. What the Lord spoke in prophesies in the Old Testament came to pass through His Son on the cross.
We see over and over again that God is a faithful God, who fulfills his promises to His people. Are you trusting in that truth today? Be amazed today that God will keep all of the below promises to you, for He is a man of His Word.
Amidst your worry, anxiety and fear, I will give you rest…. (Matt. 11:28)
Through my Son’s wounds on the cross, your brokenness has been redeemed (1 Peter 2:24)
I promise that your trials will produce joy (James 1:2)
I give strength to the weary (Isaiah 40:29)
I give wisdom to all those who ask of it. I will provide you everything you need for the situations you are in. (James 1:5)
I promise, that if you resist the devil HE WILL FLEE. (James 4:7)
Rest in these truths today. I encourage you to find more on your own. Take time to remember all of the things that have come to pass, the promises that have been fulfilled and ask God today for the strength and faith to believe that what He says, will be done, today, tomorrow and the next.
emboldened.net 