Go and See

More from Mark 6. I think I need to process this more as I see more and more in this tiny part of the story that applies to me. The disciples tell Jesus there is a problem. "It's getting late. There are no stadium lights here in the countryside; it will be dark soon. We are in a remote, desolate place. Everyone is hungry. There is no fast food near here. We thought we would fill you in on the situation, Jesus, just in case you didn't notice." In other words, Houston we have a problem. 

Of course they have it all figured out. They see the problem and they have a perfect solution. Done deal. It all makes so much sense. They just needed a little help with their plan. Jesus needed to be the One to send the crowd away. Once they fill Him in on His role and ask for His help, He will see their wisdom, and do as He is told. Everything is good. 

Oh my goodness! Isn't that us? We see a problem and then tell Jesus what He needs to do to remedy the situation. Like He doesn't already know. Like He doesn't have a plan of His own. A plan that is far better. A plan that is executed with EVERYTHING considered. Things we aren't even capable of being aware of. Past. Present. Future.

His gracious response, "You give them something to eat." They argue. "Ummmm, Jesus, do you have any idea how much it would cost to feed all those people?" He responds, "How many loaves of bread do you have?" "Go and see." I love how He patiently continues to ask questions and give them direction instead of engaging in the argument.

So the "go and see" is the word for me. I want to open my heart and mind to what God has to say about the seemingly impossible situations that come along in my life. Big things and little things. 

I hear Him gently inviting me to "go and see." Go and see what is beyond my line of vision. The endless possibilities that are out there just waiting for me. His plans to prosper me and give me a future that is good. He sees me. He knows me. He knows my needs. He knows my heart. He has things for me I can't even imagine right now. I need to look for those things and not spin my wheels dwelling on the things I perceive as problems and then telling Jesus what He needs to do for me. 

What happened that day was huge and He let them be a part of it. God help me to be open and even excited about the possibilities that are all around me if I would only "go and see."

Trust in the LORD with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways acknowledge Him and

He will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6

My Good Shepherd

By this time it was late in the day, so His disciples came to Him. "This is a remote place, " they said, "and it's already very late. Send the people away so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat." But He answered, "You give them something to eat."     Mark 6:35-37

This is a short passage of scripture but it sums up the disciples relationship with Jesus, at this point, so well. There were hungry people and the day was drawing to a close. This was a problem. But they had a plan. They went to Jesus to inform Him of the problem and explain exactly what He should do about it. Listen to the tone of this. They were bossing the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Laughable.

The good thing is they did go to Him. But of course that was only because He had a part to play in their scheme. They wanted Him to send the people away. Other than that, they had it all taken care of.

Isn't that what I do? I see the problem and think of a solution and then go for it. My underlying thinking is, "By the way Lord, I have this one covered." It's like I don't want to bother Him with these things. And I certainly don't want to bother myself asking.

Jesus' response is classic. Of course He saw saw the problem but had a completely different solution. It was something they never would have thought of in a million years. He was going to have them feed the 5,000 with a few loaves and fishes. They argued with Him but decided to do as He asked and pulled off one of the most amazing miracles found in the gospels.

Lesson to self. 
1. Go to Jesus. Go often. Go without an agenda.
Listen to what He might have to say about the things that are going on with me. He has so often worked in my life in ways that are mindblowingly amazing. I never would have imagined how He was going to orchestrate things. 
2. Trust Him. Trust His plan even when things seem crazy and I see no way out. The previous verse, verse 34, says, 

"He saw a large crowd and had compassion on them 

because they were like sheep without a shepherd."  

Jesus has compassion on me too. He knows I need Him. He knows I am not capable of finding my way without Him. He is my good Shepherd and I need to trust His compassionate love and care for me.

This takes time and it takes intentionality. Spending quality time being with Jesus is the best use of time (my life). It is there my character is shaped and molded. It is there where my decisions are informed. His Word pours into my heart and my mind. Being with Him is where I find the greatest love of all. 

And from there I can go about my day and trust that He is with me and will take care of me, even when it is getting late and there is no food to be seen. He has ways that are beyond my thinking. I need to remember that my soul can rest, knowing that my compassionate good Shepherd holds me in the palm of His hand. 

He Calls Me Daughter

She touched the hem of His garment. This women was suffering. She had been for some time. She had spent all she had trying to get well. Along comes Jesus. She had heard the buzz about Him and for the first time in along while, felt hopeful. 

She found the large crowd following Him and started searching to see if she could get a glimpse of Him. Determined, she pushed through the crowd until she was right behind Him.  She knew if she could just touch the hem of His cloak, she would be healed. Such was her faith. 

So she dared to reach out and touch Jesus, the One she knew could change her life. She didn't know then just how much she would be changed by Him. The bleeding stopped immediately  The joy and wonder she must have felt.  

But that wasn't all. Jesus knew as well. He felt the power leaving Him. He knew someone had touched Him. He could have been fine with that. She was healed. He could have moved on to deal with other needy people clamoring for His attention. But no. 

He sought her out asking, "Who touched Me?" He knew where she was but He wanted her to come to Him. She knew right away He talking about her so she went to Him. She didn't know if what she had done was wrong. She knew He was a powerful man. She fell at His feet in fear and fessed up. What she didn't know was His heart.

I think the reason Jesus didn't let her go, was He knew that she felt like she had done something behind His back. Something wrong. He wasn't willing to let her go like that. He wanted her to know that He loved her.  

He wanted her to know she didn't have to come to Him from behind. She could come to Him face to Face. He wanted to call her cherished daughter. 

I can only imagine what looking Him in the eyes and hearing the endearing quality of His Voice did to her heart. It must have done more healing in her than the stopped bleeding. I think she was then healed, heart and soul, by Love Himself.

I am so thankful Lord, You care so deeply for me too. You care about me body, soul and spirit. I thank You; You continue to call for me to come to You. And when I come, I don't have to come in fear, no matter what is going on in my life. Thank You for calling me beloved daughter. 

From Mark 5:24-34

His Comforts from Psalm 94

Unless the LORD had been my help, I would soon have dwelt in [the land where there is] silence.

When I said, "My foot is slipping", 

Your mercy and loving-kindness, O LORD, held me up.

In the multitude of my [anxious] thoughts within me, 

Your comforts cheer and delight my soul.

Psalm 94:17-19 amp

What a beautiful reminder that God helps us when we feel overwhelmed, when we feel ready to slip and fall into despair. What I really love is where it says, "Your comforts." Comforts is plural. This is where I can look at my life and see so many things to be thankful for. God's Presence being number one. This is when my anxious thoughts settle down and "peace that passes understanding" sets in. I can be kind to myself and I quit looking down. I can look up. I can listen to what God may be speaking to my heart. This may come as a kind word from a friend. It can come from taking a walk and noticing the display of God's creation all around me. A flower pressing through a crack in the sidewalk proclaiming life and beauty in spite of the pinch of cold hard cement all around it. It can come from reading God's Word and applying it to my life. I am able to shift my focus and gain a new perspective. I can look to the LORD, with gratitude for His great mercy and loving-kindness toward me.

This is the week between Palm Sunday and the cross, a week where Christians from all walks of life consider the incredible sacrifice Jesus made for all mankind. Even for Judas and the thief on the cross who mocked Him. Even for the soldiers who cast lots for His clothing.  Even for the self-righteous religious men who wanted Him dead. He went willingly to die, for all of us. We all fall so short of the glory of God. We all have need for a Savior. Our feet slip so easily. 

This psalm is about the just nature of God. The psalmist is crying out for vengeance. He identifies the wickedness that goes seemingly unnoticed by God. But the psalm goes on to say that the One who created the ear hears. The One who fashioned the eye sees. 

For the LORD will not cast off nor spurn His people, 

neither will He abandon His heritage. 

For justice will return to the [uncompromisingly] righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it.

Psalm 94:14-15

Jesus came and died to bring justice to the world. Jesus is the one and only flawless man Who ever walked this earth. Full of mercy and grace, He paid the price for the sin of every human being ever born.  We feel so bad when we are betrayed, when we are being treated unjustly. Jesus took on all the sin of all of mankind, freely and willingly.

He knew He would die an ugly, painful, humiliating, brutal death on the cross. Death on the cross is one of the most evil things conceived of by man. It inflicts incredible suffering. This is how our perfect, loving, kind, merciful, Jesus died. No wonder he sweated drops of blood the night before. He knew exactly what He was about to suffer. This what He came to do. This was why He came to live among us. He did it for all of us. He did it out of love. Perfect, selfless love. 

This is the gift of God. This sobering event is culminated in the celebration we call Easter. The resurrection. Justice served. Death overcome. Life wins. Jesus. The Way, The Truth, The Life triumphs.

Yes!

The LORD has become my High Tower 

and my Defense, and my God 

the Rock of my Refuge.

Psalm 94:22

You are the One I run to. You are the One I turn to. You cheer and delight my soul. I praise and worship You Jesus!

And They Rested

The women who had come with Jesus 

from Galilee followed Joseph and 

saw the tomb and how His body was laid in it. 

They they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. 

But they rested on the Sabbath 

in obedience to the commandment.

Luke 23:55-56

I have been thinking about this passage for 3 days now. The women who followed Jesus. Have you noticed them in the background of the gospels, the  group of women who followed Jesus? They followed Him closely. They followed Him faithfully. They fed Him, they served Him, they worshipped Him. Devoted to Him, they followed Him all the way to the cross where they watched Him die.

After His death, the followed His body. They were relentless in their pursuit of the Lord. Undoubtedly, they didn't understand what they just witnessed but they kept after Him. After they saw their Beloved laid to rest in a cold tomb, they went home to prepare burial spices. They continued to serve Him, even in death. They continued to serve Him, not knowing what was next.

Isn't that how it is with us? Isn't that our ultimate faith journey? To follow our Lord even when we don't know what is next? When we don't understand? When we hurt?

What really impresses me, is when these faithful, loving women rested. They paused in their grief, their heartache, their shock and horror and they rested. They rested because their lives were disciplined to the ways of God. They were still true to Him even after the devastation of losing the One most dear to them.

God was giving them the opportunity to rest in the midst of the tension of not knowing what was around the corner. Joy was on it's way but they didn't know that. And they rested anyway. He has that rest for me as I trust Him. He has it for you.

Lord help me to follow You as closely as these women did, the ones who got to see you face to Face. Help me to live in the tension of not knowing. Help me to know deep within my heart, that You know all things concerning my life and in that I can truly rest. I thank You Lord because You are good!

The Jesus Way

The Most High God. Our Refuge, our Strength, our Joy, our Peace. King of Kings, Lord of Lords, our Creator. Ruler of all things, seen and unseen. Lord of hosts seated on the throne forever. Full of glory. Majestic, all powerful. Almighty. Holy.

Jesus, God's Son, the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His Being, sustaining all things by His powerful word.

When they came to the place called the Skull, 

there they crucified Him, along with the criminals

-one on His right, the other on His left. 

Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, 

for they do not know what they are doing." 

The people stood watching, 

and the rulers even sneered at Him.

Luke 23:33-35

Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life, hung on a cross. The beloved Son of God, His life ebbing away, humiliated, spit upon, a spectacle only evil could conceive of. And He prayed to His Father to forgive them. Oh the mercy and grace we see in this moment. Sacrificial love on display for all of creation to witness. 

His life, a model for us, exemplified the way of forgiveness. 
He knew that love wins. He knew that light shatters darkness. He knew the radiant, piercing light of love penetrates the darkest of places, in the world and in our souls. He knew because He is that Light, that Love.

The glory of that moment and they cast lots for His cloths.
Oh Lord, help me to see You in each moment, lead me in your Way. Forgive me for casting lots, for trying to get my way, for looking down. Forgive me for not looking to You, to see You and Your way in all circumstances. Help me to choose love and life, this day. I praise You and thank You for the sacrifice You made to light the way for me and for all of mankind.

"We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday by the sea. We are far too easily pleased."
C.S. Lewis from The Weight of Glory

Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, 

even as I am fully known. 

And now these three things remain: faith, hope and love. 

But the greatest of these is love. 

Follow the way of love...

1 Corinthians 13:12-14:1

He is Always at Work

Yesterday I was reading in Exodus 32, about Moses when he was on Mount Sinai. It was here he received  the two tablets of the Testimony, which were inscribed by the finger of God Himself. On these tablets were were written the law and commands for God's people. They were written for their good.

Moses was with God on the mountain for forty days. The Israelites grew weary of waiting for him. They were scared and frustrated because they were far from home and their leader was missing in action.  Now take note that "home" was Egypt, where they lived in bondage as slaves. Oh how easily we yearn for what is familiar, no matter how bad it is! 

God had rescued these people in miraculous and mighty ways. He was leading them to the bountiful land, long promised to them. But they were loosing hope and patience. They were in the waiting room.

So what did they do? They created a golden calf to worship. They distracted themselves with lesser things. Much lesser things. Degrading and unholy things. Moses went from seeing God Himself, Face to face, undoubtedly ecstatic about the incredible plans God had for these people, to this debauchery. Moses, in a moment, was plunged from the heights to the depths. There are those moments in life.

My thought for now is about how the Israelites gave up. They needed to trust that God would see them all the way through even when they didn't have Moses, their leader, there to guide them. Couldn't they see that God didn't bring them that far just to let them languish in the desert? A verse in John 5 comes to mind, where Jesus says, 

"My Father is always at His work to this very day, 

and I, too, am working."

That is what God is speaking to me. He is at work even when I don't understand what is going on.  I can trust and even rest, knowing He is always working out good things for my life, even when I don't see it. This morning in Psalms 77:19 I read 

"Your path led through the sea, 

Your way through the might waters, 

though Your footprints were not seen." 

Again, the reminder that God leads and guides me, even when I am unaware of it. What a joy!

Most often we don't see what God is doing. Yet we can trust that He is constantly at work and has our best in mind. The promises He has for us will come to pass. We don't need to distract and comfort ourselves with things that will only harm us in the long run. We can soak in His Word, find encouragement, and walk in hope when we are in the waiting room. 

The reality is we are always waiting for something. Yet the time is coming when we will live in the beautiful and bountiful promised land with our God. Our faithful Lord has promised  us that. In the meantime, we can find peace, knowing that He is always at work.