Wait! Listen!

Picking up at the green pasture from yesterday.  The one in Psalm 23 where He makes us lie down. In John 6 Jesus feeds 5,000 with a few loaves and fishes.  This story has been somehow reduced to a Sunday School story told to children. A miracle event to wow the kids.  But the miracle is so much more than the obvious.  What about the question Jesus asks at the start of the story? "Where are we to buy bread?"

An echo of the invitation Isaiah gives in Isaiah 55:1 (amp).

Wait! 
Listen! 
Come! 
He who has no money. 
Come! 
He who is thirsty. 
Come! 
Yes, Come! 
..."buy [priceless, spiritual] wine and milk without money and without price [simply for the self-surrender that accepts the blessing]." 

Simply... for the self- surrender. Really?  The multitude was told to recline on the ground "covered with thick grass at the spot" Jesus provided.  I have to laugh because it says in the Amplified Bible that the men threw themselves down!  They were tired, hungry and spent.  All this following Jesus was wearing them out! Just where Jesus does His best work. When we are over trying to "do" our way out of things is when it is time to "be" at His feet.  There is a time for both for sure, but this was time for Him to show them who He IS.  We need to be reminded of that.....often, as well! We need our tanks filled up!

Before He fed them He foreshadowed an upcoming event.  He took the bread and broke it.  And He gave thanks.
His body broken for us.  Broken. And He gave thanks.  He knew what He was doing.  He always knew what He was doing.  Every single little thing. So intentional, His life. So giving. So free for the taking, the learning.  this free gift was paid for.  Paid for by the Son of God.  Can't forget that.

I come Lord. To You.  Thank you for filling me with your Word, leading me in Your ways.  Thank you that I can lay down and rest in and with You.  Thank you for this invitation that never expires. That has continued through the years. "Come. To Me." Thank you that you can take my tiny loaves and fishes and make them enough.  Day by day.  Your faithfulness is matchless.

Once Again

Once again He says, Come to Me. John 5:40 then goes on to say, SO THAT.  Gotta pay attention to the 'SO THATS'!  So that what....so that I may have life. His life. In me.  Staggering.  Come to ME.  Jesus says.  The One who loves me so. The living person, Jesus. He bids me once again, to come.

I woke up this morning with the song in my mind and heart, I love, I love. I love Your Presence Lord.  How sweet is it that we can be with Him. Never alone, always understood (more than we know-and yet accepted). Loved completely thru and thru.  

This passage of scripture has more to say tho.  Jesus (our example-the One we follow) explains that He does nothing on His own. He listens for the Voice of His Father.  He only acts as He is taught, led by the Father who sent Him.

John 5:30 amp 

I am able to do nothing from Myself [independently, of My own accord-but only as I am taught by God and as I get His orders]. Even as I hear, I judge [I decide as I am bidden to decide. As the Voice comes to Me, so I give a decision], and My judgement is right (just, righteous), because I do not seek or consult My own will [I have no desire to do what is pleasing to Myself, My own aim, My own purpose] but only the will and pleasure of the Father Who sent Me.

So when we come, it is not only for ourselves, it is to listen and learn, just as He listened and learned from the Father.  Never will I hear perfectly, act perfectly, but even so, He keeps inviting me to come. What He has to say is always so fitting. Not always easy but right.  Just and right.

Thank you Lord for your Voice.  Help me to listen. And hear and act. To continue to change. Help me to let go of what I think is right (especially when it is self serving-as it often is).  Help me to cultivate Your Life in me as I come.  Thank you for your mercy and loving-kindness that greet me and tend to my soul. Thank you for the rest that I feel with You.  

He makes me lie down in [fresh, tender] green pastures; He leads me beside the still and restful waters. Psalm 23:2

Rest at the Well

John 4:5- 26

The woman at the well.  But do we stop to consider Jesus at the well? Jesus came and sat by the well, hot and tired and hungry.  It was noon in an extremely hot part of the world.  He moved around on foot.  There was no air conditioned way to travel. No wheels to take Him where He needed to go. The Amplified Bible says He was weary from His journey. The Son of Man, tired and spent. Oh can we relate?  The ins and outs. The ups and downs of life. The burdens, challenges, issues, pain and trials.  Jesus knows. He has been there.  He has been here! 

And so He came to the well.  A perfect metaphor for us....He came and sat down for a rest...by the well. Our Savior needed a break.  So don't we?  We need to be wary of our addiction to busyness, our need to be needed, to be relevant, our desire to fix things, our desire to make all things right, for everyone.  Our need to play god.  We need to stop sometimes. Often actually. We need to come and sit. Rest. We were made to drink from the well.  We need to go to the Rivers of Living Water and drink deeply and knowing that He has us in the shelter of His wings.

So as He sits there, the woman comes.  They engage.  He asks her to serve Him a cup of water (oh the irony there-Him asking her for water); He begins to use the moment to reveal Himself to her. Just a day like every other day. The Son of God came to her and turned her life upside down.  The mercy and grace of God. He begins to speak of water that exists, a spring from within, of refreshing, satisfying living water. Again the amplified: water  that flows, bubbles up, continuing unto eternal life. Forever. Clear, pure, cool, refreshing, satisfying, thirst quenching water.

I love verse 10 where He says, "If you had only known and had recognized God's gift and Who this is that is saying to you, Give Me a drink you would have asked Him instead and He would have given you living water."

Do I recognize God's gift when He comes to me? Do I come to Him? Do I ask?  Do I want the living water? Or do I just want my prayers answered, my life sorted out, things to do that seem fulfilling, at least for the moment. It is Him my heart longs for.  It is Him that over-rides  the things that plague my heart and mind.  It is Him that truly satisfies with purity and clarity.  It is with Him that my heart rests and is restored.

Her thirst revealed she cries out, "SIR! Give me this water!!"  Demanding.  The need in us is so great.        That is me.

So LORD, I come to You. I lay at your feet all that concerns Me. Thank you that I can rest by the well when I am weary. Thank You that as I come to You, You bubble from within as Your Spirit leads and guides. Thank you that my heart is secure and safe.  Thank You that I can worship You and know that You Are The One Who came...to/for me.

Made in His Image

People can tame all kinds of animals and birds and reptiles and fish, but no one can tame the tongue. It is an uncontrollable evil, full of deadly poison, Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it breaks out into curses against those who have been made in the image of God.                 James 3:7-9

How often it is, that God convicts me, reminding me of something I said have said.  It is so true that what I say is a reflection of what is inside of me. It is like holding up a mirror.  Oh why, why, why did I say that ugly thing? When will that ugliness be rooted out of my heart?  My mouth is a barometer of what's up on the insides of me. A barometer of how much more time I need to spend with Him so there is more of Him in me coming out and less of insecure, impatient, judgemental me.  If I am conscious of Him I have the patience and insight to deal with difficult situations, people. When I have more of myself hidden in Him, I have no need to protect myself, defend myself, or promote myself.  He is enough. He really is!

The part that I love here actually is when James refers to people as "those who have been made in the image of God."  That is the key really.  If I can remember that when I look upon another, I am looking at one made in God's image it makes all the difference.  He loves us all so deeply, He died for us.  So no matter how messed up we are, we are so loved by God. We were created in His image. Everyone. Astonishing really.

Help me Lord to see others as you see them.  Help me to be patient, kind, loving, slow to speak, thoughtful, and most of all understanding and forgiving.  We are all bent and broken yet You have chosen to love us still.  Help me to love well. Forgive my rash, selfish, judgmental words but more than that, heart.  Help me to come from a place grounded in You; help me to see from Your perspective, to have Your wisdom, to show Your love. And thank you for having all of that towards me.  Forgive me for thinking I need it any less than anyone else.  Help me to reflect your Image, Your Love.