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.

Continue On

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.             2 Timothy 3:14-17

Question #1: So what have I learned about God? What do I know? Wow! Good question. And if I truly know these things, how does it effect me????

Question #2: What “good work” is God calling me to?  Do I list the mundane? Housework?  Doing things with and for others that I may not love doing?  Serving in the hidden places no one sees? I need to keep in mind that the mundane is often the place where God uses and shapes me best so Lord help me to not underestimate this.  Help me to remember that You see! There is a big and destructive misconception out there that there is a such thing as 'Christian ministry'. This would be things we do in the church or as outreach, especially if we are on a staff of a 'Christian' organization.  That eliminates so much good that is done in the world and prevents people from realizing the value of what they do for God in the day in and day out, of their lives. That whole concept is not helpful to the Kingdom of God and its good citizens in so many ways. 

It is more helpful to realize that our very lives are ministry. Everyday we wake up and get to live with Him, directed by Him, to live with His high purpose happening in and through us!  God wants to infuse everything we do with His purpose! With His love.  Isn’t that exciting?  The Message is helpful in this, Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God's way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us.   2 Timothy 3:17

When I make this mind shift, it changes everything. It gives everything I do purpose (Paul mentions his purpose in verse 10 as something Timothy should notice).  I live with all kinds of motives and purposes but when I use my life, even the small hidden things, for the Lord it is of the highest purpose. And that is a wonderful thing! So what is it I need to recognize as my 'work' in this season of my life and how can I serve Him well in it?

Teacher

On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?” He replied, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.’” So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover. 

When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve.  And while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.” 

They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely you don’t mean me, Lord?        ”

Matthew 26: 17-22 

This is such a perfect picture of our relationship with Jesus.

The disciples, His followers came to Him and asked Him what He wanted them to do.  So that is what we are to do.  We come to Him. And ask.  He gave them instructions, important instructions as this had to do with things written of long ago, foretold about this "appointed" time. Appointed by God, for our salvation.  He refers to Himself here, as Teacher.  He is our teacher.  Do we come to Him as such?  Do we trust Him as Teacher? Do we want to know what He wants?  How to do life?  He is the Way after all.  He knows what the best Way is for us.

It goes on to say that they did as He directed.  God help me to do as You direct.  It is so easy to get off on my own direction and loose sight of what you have for me to do, who you want me to be.

And then what I find very poignant here, is later, when Jesus told them that one of them would betray Him.  It is so interesting they all thought that they were the one.  Is it me Jesus???  Am I the one? Interesting because it revels that they all knew their hearts were not pure, that there were thoughts and motives that He might be seeing in them. Yet in spite of their impure hearts there was one that would betray Him to death and he knew for sure who he was.  How thankful I am that even though my heart is not pure; it harbors doubt, fear, ugly thoughts and motives, He is not done with me yet. Just as He continued to be at work in the lives of His disciples, He is at work in me.

So the purpose of this special meal that was foretold of?  Jesus last meal with His followers before His sacrificial death on the cross.  The Passover meal. And He called it a celebration.  That is the heart of our Lord.

His love is the celebration. His love which led Him to suffer and die for me.  Help me Lord to come, to ask, to do as you say, to examine my heart, to follow You.  Thank you for going through with this plan of salvation at the cost of your Life. Help me to live the celebration.

Jesus Wept

Jesus wept. That is the shortest verse in the Bible? Isn't that a Bible trivia question? But this is far from trivial!  This is the heart of the gospel.  This is the heart of our Lord. This is why Jesus came. This is why He died. Jesus weeping sums up the entire Bible!

Jesus called for Mary after talking with Martha. Lazarus had been dead for 4 days now.  The grief was overwhelming for his sisters, their relatives and friends.  

"When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. "Where have you laid him?" He asked?" "Come and see Lord," they replied. Jesus wept. 

John 11:33-34 

He was deeply moved, troubled and He cried. God cried.

He knew He was going to heal Lazarus. He knew it would lead many to follow Him. He knew this episode in time would ultimately bring glory to God. But in the meantime, He wept. He wept because He loved these people.  He wept because of the pain and suffering that death causes and the pain they were in, right then and there.  He wept because He has a heart of compassion and somehow that makes all the difference.  He knows my heartaches. He knows my suffering, my questions, my confusion.  Death lurks in all corners of life.

Jesus calls to me just like He called to Mary.  He calls me because He loves me.  And I too can come to Him and find comfort, love, empathy and ultimately hope.  I can trust that all things will be resolved and all of the stuff of life in a broken, messed up world will be fixed, renewed, restored, death defeated forever.  That is the big plan.  But in the meantime I can come and know that He gets it. He gets me. He cares.  And He comforts.

I read today that we don't know the hour of His return.  So in this meantime, we can know that He is with us.  Emmanuel. God with us. He sees our tears and weeps with us. And somehow that makes all the difference in the world.

He makes all the difference in the world.

Your path led throughout the sea, Your way through mighty waters, though Your Footprints were not seen. You led Your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.    

Psalm 77:19-20

Thank you Great Shepherd for seeing all things.  For always being there, for leading me, even when I don't see You.