A Comforting Question, Thought, For Today: Scripturally Speaking, What Do We Believe Heaven is Like? John 14:1-6

John 14:1-6Amplified Bible

Jesus Comforts His Disciples

14 “Do not let your heart be troubled (afraid, cowardly). Believe [confidently] in God and trust in Him, [have faith, hold on to it, rely on it, keep going and] believe also in Me. ²In My Father’s house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you. ³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and I will take you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also. ⁴And [to the place] where I am going, you know the way.” ⁵Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going; so how can we know the way?” ⁶Jesus said to him, “^[a]I am the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia. Amen.

An experienced traveler knows the value of making hotel reservations.

They spend some time working on their itinerary – the quality of the hotel they will be staying in, the quality of the food from local restaurants, entertainment venues which will help them pass their time while they are away from family.

The very thought of a comfortable room, a comfortable bed, the possibility of a good meal waiting for us at your destination just makes one feel more relaxed.

If we have to be away from our families, we might as well know the best ways we will be able to relax, get our share of work and rest, enjoy that time away.

The trip goes ever more smoothly when you have those advanced reservations.

In our reading for today from John’s Narrative, Rabbi Jesus speaks of hospitable lodging at the end of a long trip.

To comfort his disciples then, He tells us, his followers now , not to be worried during our journey on the road to eternity, on the road to our heavenly abode.

We have to trust in the Father.

In his heavenly abode there are many rooms.

And the Son prepares a special place for us.

The best medicine for a heavenly travelers heart is to utterly trust in God.

As we study this passage, we discover two important facts.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/jhn/14/1-3/t_conc_1011002

First, Jesus promises us more than just temporary housing.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g3438/kjv/tr/0-1/

The Greek words refer to “dwelling places,” and that implies permanence and stability.

Once we travel into that heavenly sanctuary, we won’t have to worry about finding new shelter again.

Second, we won’t have to look for that place on our own.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/jhn/14/1-3/t_conc_1011003

On this earth, it can be challenging to find an unfamiliar location, even with good directions.

But Jesus himself will return to show us the way.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g2064/kjv/tr/0-1/

The reservation confirmation for this heavenly lodging is going to be very simple.

BELIEVE IN GOD …

BELIEVE ALSO IN HIS SON, JESUS …

BELIEVE It’s forever safe for us in the hands of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Have you trusted him fully?

But, I can imagine that such a complete level of trust should have come from Rabbi Jesus’ disciples in that Upper Room after they have been told their Rabbi was going away – was going to be arrested, humiliated, brutalized, and killed.

I can also probably safely guess that if we were the ones in that Upper Room, our hearts too would be greatly disquieted and visibly shocked, out of sorts.

Setting aside the indescribable shock of learning your Messiah is about to be [voluntarily] walking down the roadway into his own grave, from which there is no return, is the lingering question for them of exactly what comes afterwards.

A Place, A heavenly place, A heavenly Abode …. A Mansion with many rooms.

Prepared by Jesus Himself … who will return for us one day … take us “home.”

What About this “Heavenly Mansion, Heavenly Home?”

“I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now…Come further up, come further in!” ― C.S. Lewis, The Last Battle

Everyone wants to know about heaven and everyone wants to go there.

Except, who has actually been there and will testify, paint that masterpiece everyone will automatically point to and believe is the true and actual place?

Recent polls suggest that nearly 80% of all Americans believe there is a place called heaven.

I find that statistic encouraging because it tells me that even in this skeptical age there is something deep inside the human heart that cries out,

“There has got to be something more, something better.”

Something more than the pain and suffering of this life.

Something more than 70 or 80 years on planet earth. Something more than being born, living, suffering an dying, and then being buried in the ground.

Sometimes we talk about a “God-shaped vacuum” inside the human heart.

I believe there is also a “heaven-shaped vacuum,” a sense that we were made for something more than this life.

Ecclesiastes 3:11-13Amplified Bible

God Set Eternity in the Heart of Man

¹¹He has made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time. He has also planted eternity [a sense of divine purpose] in the human heart [a mysterious longing which nothing under the sun can satisfy, except God]—yet man cannot find out (comprehend, grasp) what God has done (His overall plan) from the beginning to the end.

¹²I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good as long as they live; ¹³and also that every man should eat and drink and see and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.

God Himself, despite our own self-opinions, has made everything and everyone beautiful and appropriate in their own time, their own unique, individual place.

God has also planted eternity, a sense of divine purpose into our human hearts.

And then gifted us with an insatiable desire we always refer to as “curiosity.”

Considering this notion of “curiosity” and the always and forever lingering question “what comes next for us when Jehovah Ra’ah the shepherd comes?”

It is reasonable to say and then to believe that …

“We were definitely made to live forever somewhere.”

In a very real sense we were made for heaven.

There is another fascinating statistic I should mention.

Not only do most Americans believe in heaven, most people expect to go there when they die.

If you took a microphone to the streets of where ever you live and asked, “Do you think you will go to heaven when you die?”

the vast majority of people would answer, “I hope so,” or “I think so,” or perhaps “I think I’ve got a good chance.

Not very many people would say they aren’t going to heaven.

Perhaps one modest point is in order.

Whenever you talk about living forever somewhere, it would help to know for sure where you are going.

After all, if you’re wrong about heaven, you’re going to be wrong for a long, long time.

With that background, I now consider some what I believe are some of the most frequently asked questions about heaven.

But before I jump in, I should make one preliminary point.

The only things we can know for certain about heaven are the things revealed in the Bible.

Everything else is just speculation and hearsay.

The Bible tells us everything we need to know and I believe it also tells us everything we can know for certain about heaven.

Where is Heaven?

There are three things I can try to tell you in answer to this question.

John 14:1-3Easy-to-Read Version

Jesus Comforts His Followers

14 Jesus said, “Don’t be troubled. Trust in God, and trust in me. ²There are many rooms in my Father’s house. I would not tell you this if it were not true. I am going there to prepare a place for you. ³After I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back. Then I will take you with me, so that you can be where I am.

1. The most important fact is that heaven is a real place.

Twice in three verses Jesus calls heaven a place.

He means that heaven (“my Father’s house”) is a real place, as real as New York, London or Chicago.

The place called heaven is just as real as the place you call home.

It’s a very real place which is why the Bible sometimes compares heaven to a mansion with many rooms (John 14:1-3) and sometimes to an enormous city teeming with people (Revelation 21).

2. The Bible also tells us that heaven is the dwelling place of God.

His throne is there, the angels are there, the Lord Jesus Christ is in heaven.

Philippians 3:20 says very plainly that “our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

That’s why Jesus told the thief on the Cross, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).

3. Third (and I find this fact fascinating), the Bible hints heaven is not as far away as we might think.

Because heaven is a real place, we will sometimes think it must be outside our present universe – which would mean billions and billions of light years away.

However, it’s very clear that the early Christians understood that they would pass immediately from this life into the presence of Christ in heaven.

How can that be possible if heaven is “beyond the farthest universal bounds?”

Hebrews 12:22-24Amplified Bible

²²But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels [in festive gathering], ²³and to the general assembly and assembly of the firstborn who are registered [as citizens] in heaven, and to God, who is Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous (the redeemed in heaven) who have been made perfect [bringing them to their final glory], ²⁴and to Jesus, the Mediator of a new covenant [uniting God and man], and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks [of mercy], a better and nobler and more gracious message than the blood of Abel [which cried out for vengeance].

Hebrews 12:22-24 tells us something amazing about what the gospel has done for us:

“But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.”

The writer is here comparing Mt. Sinai with Mt. Zion.

Under the old covenant no one could come near God except under very strict conditions – and then only by one person – the High Aaronic High Priest .

That’s why the mountain shook with thunder and lightning.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/heb/12/22-24/s_1145022

[Note: three times the writer of Hebrews uses a Greek word that means “to come near” or “to approach closely.]

But now in Christ, we have been brought near to heavenly realities.

Think very carefully and very prayerfully of what the author is saying:

We’re not that far from heaven.
We’re not that far from the angels.
We’re not that far from our loved ones in heaven.
We’re not that far from God.
We’re not that far from Jesus himself.
Heaven is a real place, it’s where Jesus is right now, and it’s not far away from us.

What is Heaven Like?

I would have to answer this by saying that the Bible doesn’t give us a great deal of information.

By the Word of God for the Children of God are images and pictures and visions of heaven and comparisons with life on earth.

What is heaven like? Here are seven biblical facts about heaven. It is …

God’s dwelling place (Psalms 33:13).
Where Christ is today (Acts 1:11).
Where Christians go when they die (Philippians 1:21-23).
The Father’s house (John 14:2).
A city designed and built by God (Hebrews 11:10).
A better country (Hebrews 11:16).
Paradise (Luke 23:43).

Most of us have heard that heaven is a place where the streets are paved with gold, the gates are made of pearl, and the walls made of precious jewels.

Those images come from Revelation 21, which offers us the most extended picture of heaven in the entire Bible.

If you ask me if I believe those things are literally true, the answer is yes and no.

Yes, they are literally true but no, heaven won’t be anything like we imagine.

It will be infinitely greater.

When John writes about a street paved with gold, I do not doubt his words.

He simply reports what he saw in his vision.

Thus, I believe his words are literally true.

They are also meant to tell us that the things we value so highly in this life will be used to pave the roads in heaven.

Each of the stones and gems mentioned in the chapter represent something to the readers, have very well known and very specific spiritual qualities to them.

They are also meant to tell us that the things of this earth we value so highly in this life will be used to pave the roads in heaven.

https://biblehub.com/commentaries/revelation/21-19.htm

You may also google each stone individually … Educate Yourself.

Jesus Has Our Eternal Travel Itinerary Already Prepared For Us

John 14:1-7 The Message

The Road

14 ^1-4“Don’t let this rattle you. You trust God, don’t you? Trust me. There is plenty of room for you in my Father’s home. If that weren’t so, would I have told you that I’m on my way to get a room ready for you? And if I’m on my way to get your room ready, I’ll come back and get you so you can live where I live. And you already know the road I’m taking.”

⁵Thomas said, “Master, we have no idea where you’re going. How do you expect us to know the road?”

^6-7Jesus said, “I am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life. No one gets to the Father apart from me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him. You’ve even seen him!”

Believe in God the Father …

Believe in God the Son …

Believe in God the Holy Spirit …

Believe in the Word of God for the Children of God …

Believe in the Life, Death, and Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus Christ.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Loving Father, thank You for Christ’s wonderful words of comfort, “Let not your heart be troubled…” Thank You that God the Son came to earth as the Son of Man to bring comfort to my heart, healing to my soul, and live in my spirit. Enable me, in the power of the Spirit, to hold fast to this wonderful truth in Your Word, and I pray that You endow me with the wisdom, the words, and the grace, to pour forth Your great comfort to others who are facing their own difficult trials. Our Father, what a total joy it is to know that Jesus has prepared a place for us in your presence! Help us to overcome our worries and to trust in you fully as we journey with you. Amen.

Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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Our Lives For the Sake of the Gospel. Philippians 1:12-14.

Philippians 1:12-14The Message

They Can’t Imprison the Message

^12-14I want to report to you, friends, that my imprisonment here has had the opposite of its intended effect. Instead of being squelched, the Message has actually prospered. All the soldiers here, and everyone else, too, found out that I’m in jail because of this Messiah. That piqued their curiosity, and now they’ve learned all about him. Not only that, but most of the followers of Jesus here have become far more sure of themselves in the faith than ever, speaking out fearlessly about God, about the Messiah.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

How passionate are we about sharing the Gospel?

How much or how little are we willing to extend ourselves, sacrifice and take risks so that unbelievers may become followers of Jesus and believers may become that much better equipped to share the good news of our salvation?

As we approach the Lenten Season and consider these questions, are we helped by the example of the apostle Paul, who heroically, single-mindedly, pursued God’s call through all manner of difficulties and persecutions and throughout the Mediterranean world—all so that others may come to know Christ as Lord?

If nothing else, we we learn that nothing would stop Paul from preaching and teaching about Jesus—not a trial before royalty, a storm at sea, a shipwreck, a poisonous snake bite, chains, or even prolonged wrongful imprisonment.

Paul was hyper-zealous to make all of his days and deeds count for the Gospel.

His dramatic missionary journeys, and finally his journey to Rome to face down the Roman authorities on their home ground, illustrates God’s faithfulness and encourages us to see our circumstances as “God” opportunities for us to throw all of ourselves into our own mission, ministry journey’s to share the Gospel.

As I sit on a pillow in my dining room recovering from “urological surgery,” yesterday, my only thoughts were to start writing another devotional entry.

I can sit here in some fair measure of discomfort with my God, my Savior and the Holy Spirit and my caregiving wife at my side, to feel enormously blessed, so fully and completely grateful for what is stirring me to write and not rest.

God has formed and shaped out a place of such an enormous and intense joy in my heart, in my soul just for sharing of His Gospel, no matter the discomfort.

I have this ministry and mission of writing which Reverend John Wesley states:

“I look on all the world as my parish, thus far I mean, that, in whatever part of the world I am in … I judge it meet, right, and my bounden duty, to declare unto all that are willing to hear, the glad tidings of salvation.”

Even if my only place in the world is my very own dining room in my own home.

As of now, by God’s grace, the matchless power and purpose of His scriptures, His own grand plan, [Isaiah 55:10-13] these writings have reached 125 nations.

I cannot speak to the work God has done, but I am still writing after 18 months.

For GOD my Savior and for the Sake of the Gospel

Philippians 1:12-14Amplified Bible

The Gospel Is Preached

¹²Now I want you to know, ^[a]believers, that what has happened to me [this imprisonment that was meant to stop me] has actually served to advance [the spread of] the good news [regarding salvation]. ¹³My imprisonment in [the cause of] Christ has become common knowledge throughout the whole ^[b]praetorian (imperial) guard and to everyone else. ¹⁴Because of my chains [seeing that I am doing well and that God is accomplishing great things], most of the ^[c]brothers have renewed confidence in the Lord, and have far more courage to speak the word of God [concerning salvation] without fear [of the consequences, seeing that God can work His good in all circumstances].

Follow Paul through Acts and he leaves you breathless.

He’s constantly on the move, going from place to place.

One moment he’s stitching tents together, then he’s bringing Eutychus back to life, and then he survives a snakebite and heals the sick on Malta.

It’s almost as if you can’t imagine ever being able to keep up with him.

Surely the worst thing that could ever happen to someone like Paul is to be stuck in one house for two years.

But at the conclusion of Acts, that’s exactly how we find him (Acts 28:30-31).

You can just imagine the devil’s response to Paul’s imprisonment:

Now I’ve shut him down! That’ll get rid of him. He won’t be able to go anywhere for a long while. He’ll just shrivel up and die a prisoner.

Not a chance!

It is during Paul’s imprisonment that he penned some of his most noteworthy letters under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit—letters that God is still using to transform lives these long and tornado twisting, storm driven 2,000 years later.

And, remarkably, the gospel has continually advanced not only despite Paul’s chains but because of them.

Paul was likely very different from other prisoners.

The soldiers who guarded him would have probably said to one another,

He is the most remarkable person we’ve ever had. We’re used to people constantly cussing, screaming, agitating, and complaining. But this Paul has joy and purpose, and he just preaches!

As a result of Paul’s daily ministry among these soldiers, word began to spread throughout the entire palace guard: The reason this guy is a prisoner is because of Jesus.

They got the point: He’s chained to us, he says, because he’s chained to this man Jesus Christ.

And it appears that some of these guards not only heard the gospel but responded to it.

As they were redeployed throughout the Roman Empire, arriving at their new posts as new men, the gospel would advance to different places through them.

And so Paul’s imprisonment, which at first appeared to be diametrically opposed to the spread of the gospel, actually proved to be essential to it.

You do not need to be a prisoner, a missionary, or an apostle to be used by God in spreading the gospel, nor do you need to wait for all the circumstances in your life to line up just as you want them to before you simply talk about Jesus.

Whether you are in your home, prison, a hospital, an office, a field, or wherever, and whether you realize it or not, you are never far from someone who needs to hear the amazing story of God’s grace.

What are the situations you face that you naturally see as obstacles to sharing the gospel, and how might they in fact be opportunities?

Who are the lost and longing people that God has placed in your life today?

They need God.

And they might only meet Him through your loving, sacred, holy boldness.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 40The Message

40 ^1-3I waited and waited and waited for God.
    At last he looked; finally he listened.
He lifted me out of the ditch,
    pulled me from deep mud.
He stood me up on a solid rock
    to make sure I wouldn’t slip.
He taught me how to sing the latest God-song,
    a praise-song to our God.
More and more people are seeing this:
    they enter the mystery,
    abandoning themselves to God.

^4-5Blessed are you who give yourselves over to God,
    turn your backs on the world’s “sure thing,”
    ignore what the world worships;
The world’s a huge stockpile
    of God-wonders and God-thoughts.
Nothing and no one
    compares to you!
I start talking about you, telling what I know,
    and quickly run out of words.
Neither numbers nor words
    account for you.

⁶Doing something for you, bringing something to you—
    that’s not what you’re after.
Being religious, acting pious—
    that’s not what you’re asking for.
You’ve opened my ears
    so I can listen.

^7-8So I answered, “I’m coming.
    I read in your letter what you wrote about me,
And I’m coming to the party
    you’re throwing for me.”
That’s when God’s Word entered my life,
    became part of my very being.

^9-10I’ve preached you to the whole congregation,
    I’ve kept back nothing, God—you know that.
I didn’t keep the news of your ways
    a secret, didn’t keep it to myself.
I told it all, how dependable you are, how thorough.
    I didn’t hold back pieces of love and truth
For myself alone. I told it all,
    let the congregation know the whole story.

^11-12Now God, don’t hold out on me,
    don’t hold back your passion.
Your love and truth
    are all that keeps me together.
When troubles ganged up on me,
    a mob of sins past counting,
I was so swamped by guilt
    I couldn’t see my way clear.
More guilt in my heart than hair on my head,
    so heavy the guilt that my heart gave out.

^13-15Soften up, God, and intervene;
    hurry and get me some help,
So those who are trying to kidnap my soul
    will be embarrassed and lose face,
So anyone who gets a kick out of making me miserable
    will be heckled and disgraced,
So those who pray for my ruin
    will be booed and jeered without mercy.

^16-17But all who are hunting for you—
    oh, let them sing and be happy.
Let those who know what you’re all about
    tell the world you’re great and not quitting.
And me? I’m a mess. I’m nothing and have nothing:
    make something of me.
You can do it; you’ve got what it takes—
    but God, don’t put it off.

Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

Gloria, In Excelsis Deo, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia Amen.

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“Ambitious” Guests of Honor: Jesus Teaches About Humility and Service. Luke 14:7-14

Luke 14:7-14 Amplified Bible

Parable of the Guests

⁷Now Jesus began telling a parable to the invited guests when He noticed how they had been selecting the places of honor at the table, saying to them, ⁸“When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down [to eat] at the place of honor, since a more distinguished person than you may have been invited by the host, ⁹and he who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this man your place,’ and then, in disgrace you proceed to take the last place. ¹⁰But when you are invited, go and sit down [to eat] at the last place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; and then you will be honored in the presence of all who are at the table with you. ¹¹For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled [before others], and he who habitually humbles himself (keeps a realistic self-view) will be exalted.”

¹²Jesus also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or wealthy neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you in return and that will be your repayment. ¹³But when you give a banquet or a reception, invite the poor, the disabled, the lame, and the blind, ¹⁴and you will be blessed because they cannot repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the ^[a]righteous (the just, the upright).”

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

Parable of the Honored Ambitious Guests …

The guests and host of a banquet met Jesus.

At the banquet, the guests tried to sit in seats of honor, near the place where the host would sit.

This was common in that society, which cared about honor for people who were respectable and had status in the community.

It was also common to invite people over who would invite you back, because you could then benefit socially from attending another dinner party hosted by someone else.

But Jesus introduced a different kind of world by what he said to the guests and the host.

He told them to sit in the least honorable seats, and to invite guests who were too poor to return the invitation.

In this way Jesus revealed a way of life in which status doesn’t matter, and in which shame and honor are erased.

Jesus revealed this way of life in his teachings, and he made this way of life possible by becoming the most despised outsider of all.

He died on a cross and bore the worst of all rejections in order to make God’s kingdom a reality in our world.

God’s kingdom is the only place where the only status that matters is that we are “loved by God.”

God’s kingdom is a gift that Jesus Christ gives to us.

Jesus Teaches About Ambition, Humility, Service

Ambition can be a powerful ally or a destructive enemy.

If your ambition is misplaced and fueled by shallow wants and superficial desires, you will find yourself perpetually dissatisfied, ultimately discontent.

The Bible talks about that type of ambition in Matthew 6:24, warning against greed and the insatiable desire to earn more money than you could ever spend.

If wealth and riches and status are your ambition, you will never be satisfied.

There is nothing wrong with ambition or about being ambitious ….

There is nothing wrong with Christian or with a Christian being ambitious.

There’s nothing wrong with making money, but you have to own the money; you can’t let it own you – love of money is not supposed to be our ambition.

You and I have to have a more sacred purpose that’s greater than money.

The money will come to you through hard work and God’s blessing.

Your greater purpose should be what your ambitions push you towards.

Matthew 6:33 affirms this by giving us the insight that God knows our desires.

God knows what fuels us, and if we aren’t scheming and plotting to send someone to ruination, He wants to bless us with the things that we seek.

Jesus advises that if you and I seek first the Kingdom of God then He will give you and I everything that you and I need, and more.

Humility and service are just two of the other values that Jesus not only taught but exemplified during His earthly ministry.

On so many occasions in the Bible, we read Jesus teaching His disciples to always consider others before themselves. Jesus repeatedly emphasized the importance of self-denial and service to others.

In Luke 14:7-14, Jesus used the occasion of a banquet to give insight into humility and service.

He addressed the guest regarding humility in verses 7 to 10, And in verses 12 to 14, He spoke to the host about serving others.

Luke 14:7-14The Message

Invite the Misfits

^7-9He went on to tell a story to the guests around the table. Noticing how each had tried to elbow into the place of honor, he said, “When someone invites you to dinner, don’t take the place of honor. Somebody more important than you might have been invited by the host. Then he’ll come and call out in front of everybody, ‘You’re in the wrong place. The place of honor belongs to this man.’ Embarrassed, you’ll have to make your way to the very last table, the only place left.

^10-11“When you’re invited to dinner, go and sit at the last place. Then when the host comes he may very well say, ‘Friend, come up to the front.’ That will give the dinner guests something to talk about! What I’m saying is, If you walk around all high and mighty, you’re going to end up flat on your face. But if you’re content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself.”

^12-14Then he turned to the host. “The next time you put on a dinner, don’t just invite your friends and family and rich neighbors, the kind of people who will return the favor. Invite some people who never get invited out, the misfits from the wrong side of the tracks. You’ll be—and experience—a blessing. They won’t be able to return the favor, but the favor will be returned—oh, how it will be returned!—at the resurrection of God’s people.”

Be Ambitious and Humble Yourself and Be Exalted …

Jesus’ teaching is clear – do not think so highly of yourself that you always come expect the very best treatment at all times.

No matter who you think or believe or perceive yourself to be when you are in public or in society, remember that there’s always somebody higher than you.

Being ambitious might be good at times but certainly not on many occasions.

Imagine a famous big city mayor who went to a wedding banquet along with his bodyguards and servicemen.

Upon his arrival, the host was too busy attending to other guests so he could not personally welcome him.

Thinking he was the most highly regarded guest, the mayor naturally walked into the dining hall and sat, took the best seat and made himself comfortable.

When the host noticed his presence, he came and whispered to his ear that the seat he occupied is reserved for the governor.

At this very public event, the mayor had no choice but to get up so the governor could take his rightful seat.

With all of the media outlets present, and their cameras following his every move, what a huge embarrassment for the mayor knowing all eyes are on him.

Humility and the “Ambitious Famous” Christian

Humility is a fundamental grace in the Christian life, and yet it is elusive.

There may be times when we think we deserve VIP treatment because of who we are in the church or society.

We are the Pastor – therefore we are entitled to the very best parking space.

Head of Table: We were the chairperson for the building committee and we just carried out the most successful capital campaign in the history of the church.

The Matriarch and the Patriarch of the Church – Head of the Line meal tickets.

Or perhaps there have been times when we ourselves exhibited false humility.

Do you think you have this “I am all this, that and the other, ergo…” virtue?

Please allow me to say, “If you know you have it, you have already flaunted it!”

As someone rightly said, “Humility is not thinking meanly of ourselves; it is simply not thinking of ourselves at all.”

Jesus is the greatest example of humility, and we would do well to ask the Holy Spirit to enable us to more imitative of Him and significantly less of ourselves.

A True Act of Ambitious Charity …

The Lord Jesus also emphasized the importance of treating people equally regardless of their social and economic status.

Unfortunately, when we are the one’s who are hosting a banquet, we prefer to invite rich and powerful people – trying to increase our status and self esteem.

But Jesus told the host of the banquet that when he holds a feast, he should be extraordinarily radical and also invite the poor, the lame, and the blind.

Why should the host do what Jesus said?

It’s because these people won’t be able to repay him.

They could not invite him back because they couldn’t afford to host a banquet!

However, the host will raise his standard of living in the eyes of the community he is living, showing true compassion, receiving his reward at the resurrection.

The reality is that whenever we host a party, we just prefer to invite our friends, relatives, and the rich and famous.

We want to have people who can bring the very best, most expensive gifts or those who can invite us to their party in the future.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with inviting these people.

When Rabbi Jesus said, “Do not invite your friends, brothers, relatives, or rich neighbors,” He did not mean absolute prohibition.

Such language is common in Semitic discourse and is used for emphasis.

Jesus’ point here is that inviting one’s friends and relatives cannot be classified as a spiritual act of charity.

It may also be a rebuke against those prone to reserve their hospitality for rich neighbors.

They intentionally do this knowing that these guests will automatically feel obligated to return the favor.

And if they fail to automatically invite us back we take an automatically offense and as an excuse to discontinue the relationship – bear an everlasting grudge.

Greatness and Servanthood and Ambition …

Matthew 20:20-28Amplified Bible

Preferred Treatment Asked

²⁰Then [Salome] the ^[a]mother of Zebedee’s children [James and John] came up to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down [in respect], asked a favor of Him. ²¹And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She answered Him, “Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit [in positions of honor and authority] one on Your right and one on Your left.” ²²But Jesus replied, “You do not realize what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup [of suffering] that I am about to drink?” They answered, “We are able.” ²³He said to them, “You will drink My cup [of suffering]; but to sit on My right and on My left this is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father.”

²⁴And when the [other] ten heard this, they were resentful and angry with the two brothers. ²⁵But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles have absolute power and lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them [tyrannizing them]. ²⁶It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, ²⁷and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your [willing and humble] slave; ²⁸just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many [paying the price to set them free from the penalty of sin].”

In Matthew 20:26-27, Jesus taught His disciples that greatness is parallel to servanthood.

Jesus said in response to the request of James and John’s mother for them to be given high places in God’s Kingdom.

In his reply, Jesus poignantly highlighted about being a “servant.”

The word here means a “slave” and our English word “deacon” comes from it.

Not every servant was a slave, but every slave was a servant.

The Lord was teaching His disciples that the style of greatness and leadership for believers is different.

The Gentile leaders dominate in a dictatorial fashion, using carnal power and authority.

Believers are to do the opposite.

They lead must by being servants and giving themselves away for others, as Jesus did.

Sadly, in the church today we have many “celebrities” but so very few servants.

There are many who want to “flaunt” their authority but few who want to take the towel and water filled basin and get on their knees and wash “dirty” feet.

But while there are people who are still willing to serve, it’s interesting to note that they also have their motives.

Some are sincerely serving only to glorify God but others serve for honor and place and recognition of their “ambitious,” “obviously superior spirituality.”

What’s your motive for serving God and others?

Some final reflections and ambitious thoughts …

In Philippians 2:3-4, Paul uses the example of Jesus’ humility and service to encourage believers to do the same.

He uses the word “selfishness” which is sometimes rendered “strife” because it refers to “us versus them versus everybody, anybody else” rivalry.

It speaks of the pride that prompts people to push for their own way.

And then Paul encourages the church to have humility of mind.

It was a term of derision with the idea of being low, shabby, and humble.

The basic definition of true humility is regarding others as more important than yourself.

Our motive for being humble and serving others must be the praise of God and not the applause of men.

We must care significantly more about our eternal reward in heaven and not the temporary “we cannot take it with us to the grave” pseudo recognition on earth.

Remember, “You can’t get your reward twice” (Matthew 6:1-8).

On the day of judgment, many who today are first in the eyes of men will be last in God’s eyes.

And many who are last in the eyes of men will be first in the eyes of God (Luke 13:30).

The story is told about a wise man who shunned publicity.

He would speak every once in a while and when he speaks everyone listens to him.

After speaking he would immediately hide away into his own private place.

There would be rare times that he granted interviews and when he does he would always point to God as the giver of whatever wisdom that he possesses.

Many of us may be tempted to own to ourselves the wisdom or material wealth that we presently have.

But we should not allow ourselves to be possessed by that temptation, for who are we to own to ourselves what we have?

We have to always remember that we are mere vessels of God, whatever we have comes from God.

In our gospel text, Jesus highlights the great virtue of humility.

Jesus tells us to always be humble and not to crave for attention and adulation.

Why?

For the simple reason that the more humbler we are the more that Jesus is seen both with us and within us and emanating outward into the world from us.

The humbler we are the more the we become His effective vessels in this world.

The humbler you are the more that you allow Jesus’ light to shine upon you.

The humbler you are the more that you allow Jesus’ light to shine out from you.

The more light which emanates from us, more the light of Savior Jesus shines.

Maybe in some part of the earth we still walk on, the light of His Salvation;

Overly Ambitious Thoughts and Overly Ambitious Christians

Matthew 5:13-16 Amplified Bible

Disciples and the World

¹³“You are the ^[a]salt of the earth; but if the salt has ^[b]lost its taste (purpose), how can it be made salty? It is no longer good for anything, but to be thrown out and walked on by people [when the walkways are wet and slippery].

¹⁴“You are the light of [Christ to] the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; ¹⁵nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. ¹⁶Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good deeds and moral excellence, and [recognize and honor and] glorify your Father who is in heaven.

Do we walk/talk the kind of “shining” humility, our Savior now requires of us?

We walk/talk the kind of “shining” servanthood our Savior now requires of us?

I am pondering the imponderable possibilities if the answers are actually: YES!

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Lord God, we are shocked and awed by the kind of kingdom Jesus has introduced—it seems upside down and backwards to us. Its simple wisdom is wonderfully radical to us, the possibilities which would come from actual practice are enormous. We thank you for the great love that your kingdom reveals when we allow it to shape our lives.

Hospitable God, you invite us to a banquet where the last may be first, where the humble and the mighty trade places. Let us share your abundance with no fear of scarcity; let us greet strangers as angels you have sent! Send your Holy Spirit now so that we may find a place at your table and welcome others with radical hospitality. In the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus, Guest at all our tables, we pray. Amen.

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum!

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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Growing Up to Become a Child – Descriptions of a Childlike Faith. Matthew 18:1-5

Matthew 18:1-6Amplified Bible

Rank in the Kingdom

18 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” ²He called a little child and set him before them, ³and said, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless you repent [that is, change your inner self—your old way of thinking, live changed lives] and become like children [trusting, humble, and forgiving], you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴Therefore, whoever ^[a]humbles himself like this child is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵Whoever receives and welcomes one ^[b]child like this in My name receives Me; ⁶but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble and sin [by leading him away from My teaching], it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone [as large as one turned by a donkey] hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

Growing Up to Become a Child

What does the man, Rabbi Jesus, mean by saying to his disciples that we each need to “change and become like the little children who are among us”?

One clue we have here is that Jesus is responding to the question “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

And he replies, “Whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

In the Gospel narratives about Jesus and his disciples (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), we somehow find that the disciples often argued over which of them was, is and is about to become greatest; they seem to have been a competitive group.

And it seems they were thinking of greatness in terms of authority, leadership, knowledge, power, influence, “one above equals,” thrones and of other things.

So Jesus is seemingly telling all of his disciples that they need to change their attitudes about greatness and to become lowly and humble like little children.

Jesus’ followers, whether ancient or contemporary need to die to their selfish ambitions, realize that, just as little children depend on parents and caregivers, we are all totally dependent on Father God for all our needs and future living.

Here’s another hypothetical thought. A man in his sixties said, “Last week my five-year-old grandson said he wanted to be a firefighter when he grew up. I replied, ‘And when I grow up, I want to be a five-year-old boy.’ My grandson stared at me with wide, wondering eyes.”

Have you looked around at your own children or grandchildren and pictured yourself having such a “wide eyed wondering hypothetical conversation?”

Have you looked around at God’s world with “wide, wondering eyes” lately?

That’s something which I long for when I look at my own almost nine year old grandson when hear the clarion call to change and to become like a little child.

Descriptions of a Childlike Faith

Rabbi Jesus’ statement to His disciples in Matthew 18:3 about them not entering the kingdom of heaven unless they are converted and become as little children speak volumes and volumes of truth of the importance of living a childlike faith.

But what is childlike faith?

What makes one’s faith childlike?

Faith which is Rooted in Security

During the days of childhood, one learns how to survive and prosper, how to live under authority, how to live, love and share, and how to serve and praise.

A well-cared-for child has no worries about house or car or any credit card payments, no anxious moments over getting married to the right one, career or job opportunities, no apprehensions about failure, no thoughts of vengeance.

David exemplified this kind of faith while he was on the run from Saul.

Psalm 131:1-2Amplified Bible

Childlike Trust in the Lord.

A Song of ^[a]Ascents. Of David.

131 Lord, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty;
Nor do I involve myself in great matters,
Or in things too difficult for me.
²
Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul;
Like a weaned child [resting] with his mother,
My soul is like a weaned child within me [composed and freed from discontent].

In Psalm 131:1-2, David compared the calmness and serenity he had in the Lord to that of a weaned child with his mother.

Composed, content with God and the works He was doing in his life, David did not concern himself with great matters such as any selfish ambition and self-promotion – rather, he found serenity and security in his relationship with God.

Surely goodness and mercy and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life,
And I shall dwell forever [throughout all my days] in the house and in the presence of the Lord. (Psalm 23:6)

To have a childlike faith is to find serenity and security in our relationship with God no matter the circumstance.

Faith Which Praises

Jesus loved children. He loved to use children to teach hard-headed and hard-hearted grown-ups about faith and praise.

While preaching in the region of Judea, Christ was encircled by a great crowd.

Matthew 19:13-15Amplified Bible

Jesus Blesses Little Children

¹³Then children were brought to Jesus so that He might place His hands on them [for a blessing] and pray; but the disciples reprimanded them. ¹⁴But He said, “Leave the children alone, and do not forbid them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” ¹⁵After placing His hands on them [for a blessing], He went on from there.

He later reminded the priests and scribes that “the mouth of babes and nursing infants” would offer praise fitting for God’s Anointed (Matthew 21:16).

When Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a colt, a very great multitude that included children cried out saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest” (Matthew 21:9)!

The sound of the children praising Jesus in the temple courts made the chief priests and scribes indignant.

In response, Jesus quoted from Psalm 8:2.

God does not only want prayer in His house, He also delights in praise.

To have a childlike faith is to have a heart that always longs to praise and glorify God in each and every life’s circumstance.

Faith Which Believes

Jesus used the lad with the five barley loaves and the two small fish to feed five thousand people (John 6:9).

To show His power over death, Jesus used a little girl. Jairus, a ruler in the synagogue, fell at Jesus’ feet begging Him to come to his house and save his dying twelve-year-old daughter.

Jesus agreed and tried to make His way with Jairus, but the surrounding crowd made the trip difficult.

Word came that Jairus’ daughter had died.

But Jesus responded, “Do not be afraid, only believe and she will be made well” (Luke 8:50).

At the house, as the parents wept over their loss, Jesus said, “She is not dead but sleeping” (Luke 8:52).

Through tears, the people laughed at the impossibility of what they heard.

Jesus then asked everyone to leave the room, and then He said, “Little girl, arise” (Luke 8:54), and she did!

Romans 4:17 says that “God gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did.”

Jesus spoke to the girl with the power of God, and she was raised from the dead.

Jairus’ faith definitely played a part in the miracle healing of his daughter just like the faith of the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years had made her well (Luke 8:43-48).

Nothing is impossible with God if we would just believe.

This is what it means to have childlike faith.

Faith Which is Humble

Another time, Jesus used a child to teach humility.

In Matthew 18:1-5, we read how the disciples came to Jesus asking, “Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” and how did Jesus respond?

He called a little child to Him, set the little child in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”

He then went on to say, “Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.”

The fact that Jesus had been sharing with the disciples that truth about His approaching suffering and death did not affect them for they were thinking only of, about themselves and what position they would have in His Kingdom.

So self-absorbed were the disciples in this matter that they actually argued with each other in the presence of Rabbi Jesus himself (Luke 9:46).

Pride – the very sin that caused Satan to be cast down from heaven is what’s causing people to think of themselves more highly than others.

When Christians are living for themselves and not for others, conflict and division are bound to result (James 4:1-2).

True humility means knowing ourselves, accepting ourselves, and being ourselves – our best self – to the glory of God ALONE!.

It means avoiding two extremes:

Thinking less of ourselves than we ought to (as did Moses when God called him, Exodus 3:11), or thinking more of ourselves than we should (Romans 12:3).

The truly humble person does not deny the gifts God has given him or her but uses them to the glory of God.

The truly humble person also helps to build up others, not to tear them down.

Hebrews 12:1-3Amplified Bible

Jesus, the Example

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of ^[a]witnesses [who by faith have testified to the truth of God’s absolute faithfulness], stripping off every unnecessary weight and the sin which so easily and cleverly entangles us, let us run with endurance and active persistence the race that is set before us, ²[looking away from all that will distract us and] focusing our eyes on Jesus, who is the Author and Perfecter of faith [the first incentive for our belief and the One who brings our faith to maturity], who for the joy [of accomplishing the goal] set before Him endured the cross, ^[b]disregarding the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God [revealing His deity, His authority, and the completion of His work].

³Just consider and meditate on Him who endured from sinners such bitter hostility against Himself [consider it all in comparison with your trials], so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

This person is a stepping-stone, not a stumbling block.

This person is a building block not a stumbling block.

Thus, we must seek to remove from our lives anything that makes us stumble.

If we don’t, we will cause others to stumble as well.

Which Jesus Himself said was not a very good, very healthy, very wise, idea.

Matthew 18:6Amplified Bible

⁶but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble and sin [by leading him away from My teaching], it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone [as large as one turned by a donkey] hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

An unspoiled child has the characteristics that make for humility: trust, dependence, a desire to make others happy, and an absence of boasting or selfish desires to be greater than others.

By our nature, we are all rebels who want to be celebrities instead of servants.

And so we need a great deal of teaching for us to learn the lesson of humility.

Concluding Thoughts ….

As Christians, we are encouraged to have childlike faith.

To have faith like a child is to completely embrace, trust our heavenly Father’s goodness, care, provision, leadership, His security, vigilance and protection.

Have you experienced the peace of a well-cared-for child in letting Jesus take care of your worries?

Have you found the healing that faith in Jesus brings?

Have you praised His name with the joy of a child?

Have you answered Jesus’ call in childlike faith, asking Him to be your Savior?

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 17The Message

17 ^1-2Listen while I build my case, God,
the most honest prayer you’ll ever hear.
Show the world I’m innocent—
in your heart you know I am.

³Go ahead, examine me from inside out,
surprise me in the middle of the night—
You’ll find I’m just what I say I am.
My words don’t run loose.

^4-5I’m not trying to get my way
    in the world’s way.
I’m trying to get your way,
    your Word’s way.
I’m staying on your trail;
    I’m putting one foot
In front of the other.
    I’m not giving up.

^6-7I call to you, God, because I’m sure of an answer.
    So—answer! bend your ear! listen sharp!
Paint grace-graffiti on the fences;
    take in your frightened children who
Are running from the neighborhood bullies
    straight to you.

^8-9Keep your eye on me;
hide me under your cool wing feathers
From the wicked who are out to get me,
from mortal enemies closing in.

^10-14Their hearts are hard as nails,
    their mouths blast hot air.
They are after me, nipping my heels,
    determined to bring me down,
Lions ready to rip me apart,
    young lions poised to pounce.
Up, God: beard them! break them!
    By your sword, free me from their clutches;
Barehanded, God, break these mortals,
    these flat-earth people who can’t think beyond today.

I’d like to see their bellies
    swollen with famine food,
The weeds they’ve sown
    harvested and baked into famine bread,
With second helpings for their children
    and crusts for their babies to chew on.

¹⁵And me? I plan on looking
you full in the face. When I get up,
I’ll see your full stature
and live heaven on earth.

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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5 Ways to Truly Engage, Enjoy Christ. Luke 24:28-35

Luke 24:28-35 Amplified Bible

²⁸Then they approached the village where they were going, and He acted as if He were going farther. ²⁹But they urged Him [not to go on], saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening, and the day has just about ended.” So He went inside to stay with them. ³⁰And it happened that as He reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. ³¹Then their eyes were [suddenly] opened [by God] and they [clearly] recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. ³²They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was talking with us on the road and opening the Scriptures to us?” ³³They got up that very hour and went back to Jerusalem, and found the eleven [apostles] gathered together and those who were with them, ³⁴saying, “The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon [Peter]!” ³⁵They began describing in detail what had happened on the road, and how Jesus was recognized by them when He broke the bread.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

The disciples had been with Jesus for three years.

They had sat at his feet and seen him as their Teacher.

They had followed his instructions as their Lord and Master.

Jesus was also their Friend, and they loved sharing their hearts with him.

Jesus was their Messiah, and they enjoyed being with Him, in His presence.

But, as Henri Nouwen puts it, “His body and blood and their body and blood had not yet become one.”

Now, after his resurrection, Jesus broke bread with two of his followers, and this brought their relationship to a whole new level.

Jesus revealed Himself through the Scriptures, showed them the way by going before them and opening up a whole new realm as he is explaining his mission, Father God’s redemption plan for sinners, as told throughout Holy Scriptures.

As Jesus gave them the bread, they recognized him.

They realized that their Lord, Master, Teacher, and Friend was with them again.

He was alive!

He was with them!

They carried on an engaging conversation with Him for several miles.

When evening had come, they stopped and rested with Him and ate with Him.

He broke bread and shared the bread with them – and their EYES were OPENED!

The revelation: “The Lord Jesus had risen from the dead!”

This revelation brought them to their feet.

They returned (ran back as fast as they could) to Jerusalem to tell their story, and they found the other disciples saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen …!”

The reality of Christ’s resurrection brings the community of faith together to celebrate and enjoy the One who NOW walks with us, NOW lives within us!

Joyful, joyful, we adore thee,
God of glory, Lord of love;
hearts unfold like flowers before thee,
opening to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness;
drive the dark of doubt away.
Giver of immortal gladness,
fill us with the light of day!

Luke 24:28-35 The Message

^28-31They came to the edge of the village where they were headed. He acted as if he were going on but they pressed him: “Stay and have supper with us. It’s nearly evening; the day is done.” So he went in with them. And here is what happened: He sat down at the table with them. Taking the bread, he blessed and broke and gave it to them. At that moment, open-eyed, wide-eyed, they recognized him. And then he disappeared.

³²Back and forth they talked. “Didn’t we feel on fire as he conversed with us on the road, as he opened up the Scriptures for us?”

A Ghost Doesn’t Have Muscle and Bone

^33-34They didn’t waste a minute. They were up and on their way back to Jerusalem. They found the Eleven and their friends gathered together, talking away: “It’s really happened! The Master has been raised up—Simon saw him!”

³⁵Then the two went over everything that happened on the road and how they recognized him when he broke the bread.

Now, I want to ask you some very important and rather personal questions:

Why did Jesus walk all those miles with those two folks on the Emmaus Road?

Why did Jesus first choose to come close to those two raging skeptics?

Why did Jesus choose to come to your skeptical self and reveal Himself to you?

Why did Jesus first choose to reveal himself to those two raging skeptics?

Why did Jesus choose to reveal Himself to your skeptical self through Scripture?

In that most unexpected of moments, what did you feel when your eyes opened?

Why do you believe Jesus chose to “open your all too skeptical eyes?”

Why did Jesus save you?

Some might think it’s to take us to heaven or to bless us. (Psalm 23:5-6)

While these things are part of it, they are not the main reason.

The main reason Jesus revealed Himself to you, opened your eyes to His life and saved you is so He could be in a BFF intimately personal relationship with you.

I know that may seem mightily overwhelming when you think of who Jesus is and where you were, who you are and where and who we are, but it is 100% true.

For the joy which was before Him, and is now before you, since Jesus saved you for relationship, how can you make the most of it and truly enjoy Jesus Christ?

5 Ways You Can Enjoy Christ

1. Engage His Presence

Enjoying Christ means being able to enjoy his presence.

The best way to enter his presence is through worship.

Psalm 22:3 says God inhabits the praises of his people.

This verse means God sits among the people who praise him.

When you worship, you get God’s attention, and he draws near to you.

The one thing God desires more than anything else is to be close to you. He desires this because He wants, deeply desires for you to enjoy his presence.

There are so many Scriptures that invite us into his presence and the beauty of his presence is everything we need is there.

You will find joy, peace, comfort, freedom, and the ability to leave every worry and care behind you.

If you really want to enjoy Christ, then you must spend time in his presence.

Spending quality time in his presence does not always mean you always have to open your mouth and say something.

Sometimes sitting quietly, in His sanctuary, in private before him and allowing his Spirit to minister unto, you is exactly what you need. (2 Samuel 7:18-29)

You cannot enjoy Christ without being in his presence, so make quality time for it – take every advantage of it and God in Christ promises you will not regret it.

2. Engage His Promises

Part of building your relationship with Jesus is studying and praying, getting to know what he says, reveals in His Holy Scriptures, and promises He has made.

Sometimes we like to focus on the promises of blessing, but what is greater than those are his promises to be with you.

If it comes down to making a choice between having the One who blesses or the blessing, His wisdom says choosing the One who blesses wins out every time.

One way to really enjoy Christ is to think of the many promises he has made to walk with you through life.

“…And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

“So do not fear, for I am with you: do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).

When You’re Between a Rock and a Hard Place

43 ^1-4But now, God’s Message,
    the God who made you in the first place, Jacob,
    the One who got you started, Israel:
“Don’t be afraid, I’ve redeemed you.
    I’ve called your name. You’re mine.
When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you.
    When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down.
When you’re between a rock and a hard place,
    it won’t be a dead end—
Because I am God, your personal God,
    The Holy of Israel, your Savior.
I paid a huge price for you:
    all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in!
That’s how much you mean to me!
    That’s how much I love you!
I’d sell off the whole world to get you back,
    trade the creation just for you. (Isaiah 43:1-4 Message)

“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged” (Deuteronomy 31:8).

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

I know God has promised to provide and bless and those things are wonderful.

But knowing he will be with you is the greatest of all the promises because if he is with you and for you, then who can be against you (Romans 8:31)?

The comfort, the place of Shalom, knowing there is nothing in this life that can ever separate you from His love sets a foundation for you to love, enjoy Jesus.

3. Engage and Value His Purpose

If you want to enjoy your relationship with Christ, then you need to value the things he values.

His purpose for your life and your purpose for your life must align.

If these two things don’t agree, then you will never enjoy Christ.

Part of his purpose for you is to walk in obedience and avoid sin.

There was a 30 year period of time in my life where I allowed sin to rule, which was clearly never in alignment with even .001% of Jesus’s purpose for my life.

I can assure you those were the most miserable times in my life.

I have discovered the best place to be in life is walking in the center of his will.

When you innately know you are doing what God has called you to do, there is a definite place satisfaction and a decisive source of enjoyment that comes that is utterly, fully and completely unmatched by anything, anyone else on this earth.

This has nothing to do with how big or small your family is, how much money you o an do not make or how successful, how big a failure you are in your career.

Those things are not germane nor are they the foundation of enjoying Christ.

When you walk and talk with Jesus, listen to His Words with intent to align your life with His life, His purpose, there is no greater joy you will ever experience!

4. Engage His People

You cannot enjoy your life with Christ if you do not engage with and enjoy his people.

A friend I know who is married and has one kid recently told me this story.

He and his wife were invited to share a family dinner with another couple.

They could find no one to watch their son and asked if they could bring them.

They were told they were welcome, but we don’t really want kids in our house.

That dinner never happened.

A friendship was damaged …

You cannot say you love Jesus if you don’t love the ones he calls his own.

It is simply not possible.

Here is how the Bible puts it.

“Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen” (1 John 4:20).

Make a friend, Be a friend, Bring a friend to Christ ….

If you are going to enjoy Christ, then you must learn to enjoy his people.

So often we focus on the faults and failures, failings and imperfections we see in others, and most of the time they are quickly obvious and easy to spot, mention.

I know mine are.

But guess what?

So are yours.

We are all imperfect people who are reflections of a perfect Christ.

Sometimes we get it wrong and mess this up, but as the expression goes, you do not throw the baby out with the bath water.

If you want to enjoy Christ, you cannot separate that from enjoying his people.

By the way, you better get used to His people because you are going to spend eternity with them, so you might as well enjoy them now.

5. Engage His Position

The last thing you need to enjoy Christ is to engage the position he must have in your life.

He must be Lord of all.

The truth of walking and talking with Jesus is either He is Lord of absolutely everything, or He is Lord of absolutely nothing.

There is no in between.

People that never make Jesus Lord of their life never experience the full joy of walking with Jesus.

When Jesus is Lord, and he sits at the center of your life, then life takes on a whole new perspective.

You will face many of the same challenges, but you will do so with Jesus at the helm of your life.

Knowing this alone can free you from anxiety because if He is at the wheel, you will arrive safely wherever He wants you to go.

Build Your Relationship

Enjoying Christ is all about the relationship you and I share with Him, and if you and I miss this, then you and I miss it all.

The fact is you and I have someone we can be completely transparent with, who knows everything thing about us good and bad, yet still desires to fellowship.

This is truly amazing.

I encourage you to lean muchly into your Koinonia relationship with Jesus.

Be intentional about spending time with Him, make him the center of your life.

If you do, you will discover your walk with him will get sweeter and sweeter every day.

I will leave you with the words from a song by the Heritage Singers.

“I just keep falling in love with Him
Over and over, and over, and over, again
I keep falling in love with Him,

Over and over, and over and over again
He gets sweeter and sweeter as the days go by,

Oh, what a love between my Lord and I
I keep falling in love with Him
Over and over, and over, and over, again.”

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 100 The Message

100 ^1-2On your feet now—applaud God!
Bring a gift of laughter,
sing yourselves into his presence.

³Know this: God is God, and God, God.
He made us; we didn’t make him.
We’re his people, his well-tended sheep.

⁴Enter with the password: “Thank you!”
Make yourselves at home, talking praise.
Thank him. Worship him.

⁵For God is sheer beauty,
all-generous in love,
loyal always and ever.

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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“Do You Really Want to be Made Well?” Surrender to God’s Healing in Your Life! John 5:1-9

John 5:1-9Amplified Bible

The Healing at Bethesda

5 Later on there was a Jewish feast (festival), and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

²Now in Jerusalem, near the Sheep Gate, there is a ^[a]pool, which is called in Hebrew (Jewish Aramaic) Bethesda, having five porticoes (alcoves, colonnades). ³In these porticoes lay a great number of people who were sick, blind, lame, withered, ^[b][waiting for the stirring of the water; ⁴for an angel of the Lord went down into the pool at appointed seasons and stirred up the water; the first one to go in after the water was stirred was healed of his disease.] ⁵There was a certain man there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. ⁶When Jesus noticed him lying there [helpless], knowing that he had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to get well?” ⁷The invalid answered, “Sir, I have no one to put me in the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am coming [to get into it myself], someone else steps down ahead of me.” ⁸Jesus said to him, “Get up; pick up your pallet and walk.” ⁹Immediately the man was healed and recovered his strength, and ^[c]picked up his pallet and walked.

Now that day was the Sabbath.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

Picture the scene: a pool of water surrounded by covered porches.

Bethesda was known as a place of healing.

At certain times of the year, an angel of the Lord stirred the waters.

It was then that the porticoes were often crowded with destitute people who were blind, lame, and paralyzed – waiting to be the ones who were 1st healed.

Among them lay a man who had been lame for thirty-eight long years.

He came! Except there was no one willing to help him get into the pool.

Jesus was watching the proceedings from a short distance away.

Jesus approached asked the man, asking him; “Do you want to get well?”

On the surface, the answer would seem obvious.

Of course the man wanted to be well!

But here, Jesus was asking a deeper question.

He was probing the man’s heart.

Did he really want to be made whole-

-Did he really want to be healed, to be transformed inside and out, healed in body, mind, and soul?

Without waiting for the man to give his response, to tell Jesus his story ….

Jesus spoke to him a second time: “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”

From a human standpoint, it was impossible for the man to get up.

To others who were listening, this may even have sounded a bit cruel.

But at that moment the healing power of Jesus touched the man, filling his body, mind, and spirit with wholeness.

As Jesus healed the man, he was saying, in effect, “Pick up your mat and be out of here. You never have to think of coming back to this kind of life again.”

The steps Jesus took in healing this man give us an outline of how our Lord meets us today.

He probes our hearts, commands the impossible, provides the power, and tells us, up close and personal, to “be healed, ” get up and leave our old life behind.

What Presence …

What Authority …

What Sovereignty …

What a Savior!

How to Surrender to God’s Healing in Your Life …

At first glance, one may raise an eyebrow at the title of this devotional.

Why would one need to surrender to healing?

We pray for, ache for, pray without ceasing, generally get on our hands and knees searching for healing in so many aspects of our lives.

So why would someone resist it when it is offered to them?

Or is it resistance?

Perhaps, surrendering to God’s healing has nothing to do with fighting against it so much as it is our coming to the realization and acceptance that we need it.

This means coming to a point of humility and admitting our shortcomings or, perhaps worse, the vast diversity our very worst faults, failures and failings.

But then, we may be well aware we need healing.

So then, surrendering to God’s healing isn’t something fraught with resistance or stained with denial, but it is shrouded in the most severest spoken, unspoken actions, expressions, of doubt that God really can bring healing to a broken life.

Or that after an extended period of suffering, He will ever really bring healing.

Have you ever found yourself thinking,

“I know God can heal my life, but I do not know if I believe He ever will.”

Whether surrendering to God’s healing has to do with resistance to healing, denial of the need for healing, or doubting the possibility of recovery, it’s good to step back when in need of healing and take a “selfie” – a clear photograph of your spirit and heart.

What part of “self” might stand in the way of our surrender to God’s healing?

Here are some areas to self-examine and see if any of these may be a part of your surrendering difficulties or process:

1. To heal means to freely and fully admit your weakness.

There’s a verse in II Corinthians 12 that is often quoted when it comes to recognizing one’s weaknesses. “For when I am weak (in human strength), then I am strong (truly able, powerful, drawing from God’s strength),”

2 Corinthians 12:7-10Amplified Bible

A Thorn in the Flesh

⁷Because of the surpassing greatness and extraordinary nature of the revelations [which I received from God], for this reason, to keep me from thinking of myself as important, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan, to torment and harass me—to keep me from exalting myself! ⁸Concerning this I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might leave me; ⁹but He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you [My lovingkindness and My mercy are more than enough—always available—regardless of the situation]; for [My] power is being perfected [and is completed and shows itself most effectively] in [your] weakness.” Therefore, I will all the more gladly boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ [may completely enfold me and] may dwell in me. ¹⁰So I am well pleased with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, and with difficulties, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak [in human strength], then I am strong [truly able, truly powerful, truly drawing from God’s strength].

Apostle Paul clearly states his beliefs of strength in the last part of verse ten.

The idea is that to gain strength, one is best set by first coming to the end of themselves.

Only in that weakness can their strength be infused with the might of the Holy Spirit, thus bringing about a strength that only comes from God, Himself.

But let’s step back a bit to a portion not as often quoted in verse 9. Jesus said, “My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness.”

This is a critical portion of the text when looking at the final part of verse ten and coming to terms with your weakness.

Admitting our weaknesses can make us feel as though we’ve been put into a vulnerable and exposed position.

In a way, it’s “waving our white flag” coming before God for healing with naked souls and our sins, failings, hurts, and brokenness splayed with no disguises.

But His “straight to the point” answer in this healing process has nothing to do with pointing out the errors of our ways or making sure we are valid in our hurt, or our ideations or perceptions or our reality of our brokenness is .01% justified.

His answer is straightforward and strong:

“My grace is sufficient for you.”

His grace is enough.

Enough.

1. Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!
Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured,
there where the blood of the Lamb was spilt.
Refrain:
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
grace, grace, God’s grace,
grace that is greater than all our sin!

To first admit our weakness is to place ourselves into the submissive role of someone who needs to be rescued – sit still and accept Jesus Christ is God.

And Who better to do this with than the one whose power is made perfect in weakness?

2. Abandoning denial means you embrace the truth.

The truth can be a painful place to go.

The whole “the truth will set you free” concept from John 8 may be remarkably true, it can also mean “coming to terms” with some very harsh, frank realities.

It may mean you must face the abuses that have broken you.

You may need to travel to some dark places to come out the other side into a place of everlasting living hope.

Denial can be a protective mechanism.

If it doesn’t exist, therefore, there is no problem.

Or, stated differently, if everything is working, then nothing needs fixing.

But are you thriving just because you have duct-taped and paper-clipped an industrially stapled your life together in a way you can only barely function?

Are you experiencing the strength and power of God’s grace being sufficient for you when pretending to be healthier than you truly are?

Surrendering to healing may mean ripping off some bandages that have dried onto the wounds.

The hurts may need to bleed again in order to, this time, be healed properly with as minimal scarring as God will allow.

Can you find the courage to be honest and say, “I need to experience God’s healing in my life”?

3. Surrendering means acting in faith God will keep His promises.

Nothing can kill a dream faster than the disappearance of hope.

So when doubt and trepidation enter the healing process of our brokenness, we can begin to embrace the complexity and diversity of the all of the lies and the insinuations we have weaved that God may not do what He has said he will do.

However, God has promised to heal the brokenhearted.

He has promised to meet our needs (Psalm 23).

He has promised to be the Savior to a bleeding and busted soul (Psalm 22).

Coming before God in surrender may mean we go to Him with speculation and concern.

It might also mean you come to Him and lay aside your perceived ideas of how He will heal you.

In the same way physical healing may not be provided to you in the way you imagine it, your emotional, spiritual, and mental healing may come through avenues and processes you have not considered.

To surrender genuinely does mean to step out in faith, trusting and believing that He is sufficient and can bring healing; not presenting Him with a list of ways you believe He absolutely needs to bring that healing into your life and then stepping back to gnash teeth, bite your fingernails, doubting He’ll read it.

Can you fully, genuinely say, “I trust God to do what He has promised without expecting Him to tell me how and without putting a timeline on it?” (Psalm 24)

Healing is a process.

It’s not a simple one, nor is it straightforward and standardized.

Plus, let’s be honest.

Since when is God predictable in the journeys He takes his people on?

Surrendering to the Lord for healing is, in and of itself, a process.

It’s coming to terms with admitting you need healing, it’s realizing that there will be some tough stuff to relive, walk through, evaluate, and even admit; it’s recognizing you probably won’t know how healing will come—just that it will.

In the end, healing isn’t a simple process with an easy answer.

Neither is “white flag” surrendering.

You may find yourself surrendering to God’s healing in one moment,

then in the next, you’re taking it all back, trying with all remaining strength to wrestle it back from Jesus and rebuilding up your defensive walls once again.

So hold on to and grasp that His strength will be made perfect in your weakness.

That His grace is sufficient for this journey on which you will embark.

And also, know that His healing isn’t a three-step process.

His healing will be customized for His relationship with you and for His glory to be seen and shown to the world around you.

Be ready for great things.

“White Flag ” healing is miraculous, so hold on tight, proceed with great hope!

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we give all glory to You, for through Your mighty power at work within us, You are able to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. By thy grace help us not to grieve You, dear Spirit, but to kneel, “wave our white flags” to wholly submit to You, allow Your power to have full an maximum sway in us. We thank You for Your gracious presence dwelling within us. We thank You for thy intercession on our behalf. Glory to You in the Church and in Christ Jesus.

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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Attitude Adjustment: Our Leaving Matters in God’s Hands. Genesis 16

Genesis 16Amplified Bible

Sarai and Hagar

16 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not borne him any children, and she had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar. ²So Sarai said to Abram, “See here, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. I am asking you to go in to [the bed of] my maid [so that she may bear you a child]; perhaps I will ^[a]obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to Sarai and did as she said. ³After Abram had lived in the land of Canaan ten years, Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian [maid], and gave her to her husband Abram to be his [secondary] wife. ⁴He went in to [the bed of] Hagar, and she conceived; and when she realized that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress [regarding Sarai as insignificant because of her infertility]. ⁵Then Sarai said to Abram, “May [the responsibility for] the wrong done to me [by the arrogant behavior of Hagar] be upon you. I gave my maid into your arms, and when she realized that she had conceived, I was despised and looked on with disrespect. May the Lord judge [who has done right] between you and me.” ⁶But Abram said to Sarai, “Look, your maid is entirely in your hands and subject to your authority; do as you please with her.” So Sarai treated her harshly and humiliated her, and Hagar fled from her.

⁷But ^[b]the Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, on the road to [Egypt by way of] Shur. ⁸And He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where did you come from and where are you going?” And she said, “I am running away from my mistress Sarai.” ⁹The Angel of the Lord said to her, “Go back to your mistress, and submit ^[c]humbly to her authority.” ¹⁰Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, “I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be too many to count.” ¹¹The Angel of the Lord continued,

“Behold, you are with child,
And you will bear a son;
And you shall name him Ishmael (God hears),
Because the Lord has heard and paid attention to your persecution (suffering).
¹²
“He (Ishmael) will be a wild donkey of a man;
His hand will be against every man [continually fighting]
And every man’s hand against him;
And he will dwell in defiance of all his brothers.”

¹³Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are ^[d]God Who Sees”; for she said, “Have I not even here [in the wilderness] remained alive after ^[e]seeing Him [who sees me with understanding and compassion]?” ¹⁴Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi (Well of the Living One Who Sees Me); it is ^[f]between Kadesh and Bered.

¹⁵So Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son; and Abram named his son, to whom Hagar gave birth, ^[g]Ishmael (God hears). ¹⁶Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.

The Word of God for the Children of God

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

Today’s story centers on the painful triangle of relationships between Abram, Sarai, and Sarai’s slave Hagar.

The ancient story contains moral weakness, self pity, jealousy, competition, contempt, scorn, rejection, revenge, meanness, and other emotional violence.

When the situation becomes unbearable, Sarai sends Hagar to Abram that Abram should have sexual relations with her and then bear the family a child.

A child is conceived and this is where things really break down.

Hagar looks down with jealousy and contempt upon Sarai in her infertility.

What had started with Sarai good intentions, her self sacrifice to give Abram a lasting hope for the continued future of his lineage, just turned seriously sour.

Sarai blamed Abram ….

Sarai wanted maximum accountability from Abram for Hagar’s behaviors.

⁵Then Sarai said to Abram, “May [the responsibility for] the wrong done to me [by the arrogant behavior of Hagar] be upon you. I gave my maid into your arms, and when she realized that she had conceived, I was despised and looked on with disrespect. May the Lord judge [who has done right] between you and me.”

Abram washes his hands of the matter ….

⁶But Abram said to Sarai, “Look, your maid is entirely in your hands and subject to your authority; do as you please with her.” So Sarai treated her harshly and she humiliated her, and Hagar fled from her.

But now she is in a desperate situation: pregnant and alone in the desert with barely enough provisions for survival.

It all began with a promise from God to secure Abram’s family future.

Time had lapsed and a hopeful, hope-filled promise turned into a situation of impatience and desperation, a lapse of personal faith in God to change lives.

We are greatly shocked by the sequence of events – great promise to an even greater descent into great jealously, rage, humiliation – threatening the family.

Putting the prospect of great hope in a blessed and abundant future in jeopardy.

But the one thing we notice which seems to be missing from this tragic story is anyone’s attempt to seek out God, to pray for change, courage, patience, mercy.

The one thing we do not see is any sincere desire for an “attitude adjustment.”

To caught up in their very raw emotions …. there is no offer of prayer to God.

This instantaneous moment when all Abram, Hagar and Sarai can see is each other trying to sort out an extraordinarily volatile situation by their own wills.

Was grace an unknown commodity?

Was the thought of compassion or mercy an unknown commodity lost to anger?

On the human side … very much so.

Too fast to respond with raw unfiltered emotions is all too soon our first hope, first response for lasting meaningful successful resolution to a hopeless cause.

But, what if we were to counsel these parties and try to insert a moment or two of “attitude adjustment” – set these people apart – insert another perspective?

Remind them in the midst of this, there’s grace and mercy in this raw story too.

Remind them and ourselves of the promise: the presence, sovereignty of God?

The name for God in this text draws from the Hebrew word ‘roi’, which has to do with “looking,” “appearance,” “seeing,” and “sight.”

Abram and Sarai seem to have lost their sight, vision, of God’s faithfulness.

Yet, alone and utterly forsaken in the desert—in her darkest moment—Hagar realizes that El Roi, “the God who sees,” sees her, has never lost sight of her.

Some choose to see God, envision God, prayed, inserted into their situations.

Look for hope in seemingly hopeless situations ….

Believe all things “impossible in our eyes” are always possible in God’s eyes.

Others?

Like Abram and Sarai (and perhaps us?) in that moment …. not so much ….

Don’t we all find ourselves at times in desperate situations?

Even if our circumstances are not desperate, they can certainly be difficult at times, and we can absolutely feel as if we will never have a hope for any future.

Life was harsh and difficult in those ancient of days and even today is difficult, and living in today as a Christian does not mean we are spared those difficulties.

As we will continue to confront and face illness, unemployment, heartache, broken relationships, separations and divorces and other moral challenges, we are always and forever will be confronted by this single fundamental question:

Is their an “Attitude Adjustment” anywhere in our futures?

Is there time for a “God sized” “Attitude Adjustment” anywhere in our plans?

Is God’s perspective going to be even minimally, voluntarily sought out?

Remember the faithful Promises of God for an abundant future of hope?

Not our own hope or lack of hope we exclusively reserved for ourselves?

Lose sight of God’s wisdom to know how we should respond to adversity?

Walk the narrow paths of God’s promises?

Walk the broad pathways which lead to our destruction? (Matthew 7:13-14)

Walk the path of faith or will we try to take matters into our own hands?

Abraham was a man who was just like us—he experienced both triumph and failure in his walk of faith.

God had personally promised Abram to make his family a nation and to bless the world through someone from that nation (Genesis 12:1-3).

Though childless, elderly Abraham and his wife, Sarah, would have their “very own son” who would be their heir (Genesis 15:4).

Abraham “believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness” an even Sarah herself received the ability to conceive Isaac. (Hebrews 11:8-11)

But after years and years of waiting, Abram and Sarai’s faith had wavered.

They were expecting God to act in good faith, but now had grown impatient.

Presumably, on a monthly basis, their hopes would rise and collapse—and with every passing month and year, Sarah grew older, sadder, and more impatient.

So it was that they reached an explosive crisis of faith.

They knew that God is real, that God is all-powerful, and that God had promised them a son, but they also knew they both got older and didn’t yet have a son.

Would they allow the questions of their hearts to overturn their faith or would they allow their vision of faith in God to overturn the questions of their hearts?

The verses above narrate the sorry conclusion: they took matters into their own hands, and the “best” solution that they adopted was a destructive self-effort.

In doubting and despair, Sarai ordered Abram to sleep with her maid servant, Hagar, in hopes of bringing about the promised child, and Abraham complied.

Perhaps this was acceptable practice in that time and culture, based on the idea that the children of such a union would belong to the owner of the slave-girl.

Abram undoubtedly informed Sarai of God’s promise to him, and Sarai perhaps thought that this was necessary in order to bring about God’s plan for them.

Ancient and Contemporary 20/20 hindsight being what it is, always will be;

It was the wrong decision.

Doubting that God would keep His promise, they instead sought to bring it about by their own (immoral) actions.

They made their decision based on expediency.

They didn’t ask, What is right?

They asked, What can we do for ourselves that will “work things out” for us?

They allowed pragmatism to be their guide over and against faith—and in doing so, they brought about more suffering, more pain, and more heartache for themselves and for Hagar.

They thought intervening by their own devices and their understanding of human nature would simplify things; instead, it complicated everything.

Making Attitude Adjustment, Leaving Matters in God’s Hands

Whenever we set faith aside and apply self-effort, we complicate our lives.

Whenever we seek to take things into our own hands and make our own plans instead of trusting God to keep His promises, we end up with chaos, heartache.

Faith and waiting go hand in hand.

Do not lose heart as you sit in life’s waiting rooms.

It is always right to wait upon God, and it is always right to wait for God.

God sees and knows everything and everyone.

We do not know everything and everyone.

But we can know God more than we do now – if we want to know Him more.

If we want to surrender the sum total of who we believe we are in our eyes.

What areas of life do we need to “make adjustments” to live this out today?

But even in times of hopelessness,

can we adjust our way of thinking an believing we are each Blessedly Assured:

El Roi, “the God who sees,” is 100% watching over us, 100% seeing us, 100% protecting, 100% providing for us all in our darkest hour of need (Psalm 23)?

It is too deep in our human nature, our bleakest moments we too feel all alone.

What is my natural response?

What is your natural response?

What is our natural response?

With a bit of tweaking (attitude adjustment) by the Lord our Savior,

By God’s matchless grace, faithful mercy. one and done forgiveness and love,

What might our “God-Adjusted” responses become?

Job 19:23-27Amplified Bible

Job Says, “My Redeemer Lives”

²³
“Oh, that the words I now speak were written!
Oh, that they were recorded in a scroll!
²⁴
“That with an iron stylus and [molten] lead
They were engraved in the rock forever!
²⁵
“For I know that my Redeemer and Vindicator lives,
And at the last He will take His stand upon the earth.
²⁶
“Even after my [mortal] skin is destroyed [by death],
Yet from my [immortal] flesh I will see God,
²⁷
Whom I, even I, will see for myself,
And my eyes will see Him and not another!
My heart faints within me.

El Roi, “the God who sees,” has never lost sight of us, promises to care for us.

Surely, the Goodness and Mercy of God do follow us all the days of our lives!

What greater, more blessed assurance can we “adjust” ourselves to believing?

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 16 The Message

16 ^1-2Keep me safe, O God,
I’ve run for dear life to you.
I say to God, “Be my Lord!”
Without you, nothing makes sense.

³And these God-chosen lives all around—
what splendid friends they make!

⁴Don’t just go shopping for a god.
Gods are not for sale.
I swear I’ll never treat god-names
like brand-names.

^5-6My choice is you, God, first and only.
And now I find I’m your choice!
You set me up with a house and yard.
And then you made me your heir!

^7-8The wise counsel God gives when I’m awake
is confirmed by my sleeping heart.
Day and night I’ll stick with God;
I’ve got a good thing going and I’m not letting go.

^9-10I’m happy from the inside out,
and from the outside in, I’m firmly formed.
You canceled my ticket to hell—
that’s not my destination!

¹¹Now you’ve got my feet on the life path,
all radiant from the shining of your face.
Ever since you took my hand,
I’m on the right way.

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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The Quickest and Most Courageous Way to Make an Attitude Adjustment. Hebrews 4:10-13

Hebrews 4:10-13 Amplified Bible

¹⁰For the one who has once entered His rest has also rested from [the weariness and pain of] his [human] labors, just as God rested from [those labors uniquely] His own. ¹¹Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest [of God, to know, experience it for ourselves], so that no one will fall by following the same example of disobedience [as those who died in the wilderness]. ¹²For the word of God is living and active and full of power [making it operative, energizing, and effective]. It is sharper than any two-edged ^[a]sword, penetrating as far as the division of the ^[b]soul and spirit [the completeness of a person], and of both joints and marrow [the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and judging the very thoughts and intentions of the heart. ¹³And not a creature exists that is concealed from His sight, but all things are open and exposed, and revealed to the eyes of Him with whom we have to give account.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

The 19th-century English preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon once said the Reformation began when Martin Luther found an old discarded Bible in his monastery.

As he postured himself, he began to read it, subtly God’s Word grew like a seed in his heart and his soul, and the result was a world-transforming movement.

But this gentle image of a seed is not the way the incomparable power of God’s Word is described in Hebrews 4:12, one of the key verses in the foundational idea of sola Scriptura, or “Scripture alone.”

Here God’s Word is described as a sharp, powerful, and precise blade, dividing the whole complete truth from all of the rebellious lies we harbor in our hearts.

Only Scripture has this power—not the traditions of any church, nor the acutely accurate insights of any leader.

As Luther said, “A simple layman armed with Scripture is greater than the mightiest pope without it.”

Indeed, in speaking about the Reformation that he initiated, Luther said, “I did nothing. The Word did everything.”

God’s Word, the Bible, has a precision and a power we will find nowhere else.

Will you let it be active in you?

Read it with an open heart?

Let it form the words that come from your mouth?

Let it shape the actions you take?

Adjusting (without our permission and utterly against our wills) our attitudes?

Eventually arriving at the God anointed place where only by knowing and living in and through God’s Word can we please him and serve him in our daily lives?

Is there enough moral courage to let the Word of God take command of our life?

What Does it take to be Courageous?

Isaiah 45:5-7Amplified Bible

⁵
“I am the Lord, and there is no one else;
There is no God except Me.
I will embrace and arm you, though you have not known Me,
⁶
That people may know from the rising to the setting of the sun [the world over]
That there is no one except Me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other,
⁷
The One forming light and creating darkness,
Causing peace and creating disaster;
I am the Lord who does all these things.

Courage back-builds as we spend time soaked in the Truth of God’s Word.

Understanding who God is and who we are as His children allows us to realize our need for Him.

When we don’t know what’s going to happen, God is already there.

He is all-knowing, everywhere, all of the time.

There is no other God, …..

Isaiah repeated three times in today’s key verses.

Any time a word or phrase is repeated in Scripture, we can assume it’s of heightened importance.

There is no other God.

He alone is mighty to save.

He gives us what we need to live the lives He’s put us on earth to live, before we even know who He is.

We have a never-ending supply of courage available to us, through Christ Jesus.

His Holy Spirit lives in us, activating a supernatural bravery in each of us who dare to publicly proclaim Him our Lord and our Savior.

The One True God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

There is no other – period!

There can never be another – period!

There will never be another – period!

Our only living hope is in living for Him.

Our only living hope comes from living from Him,

…. as does the courage and bravery we need to wait patiently on Him.

How does the Word of God define Courage?

Joshua 1:5-9Amplified Bible

⁵No man will [be able to] stand before you [to oppose you] as long as you live. Just as I was [present] with Moses, so will I be with you; I will not fail you or abandon you. ⁶Be strong and confident and courageous, for you will give this people as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers (ancestors) to give them. ⁷Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do [everything] in accordance with the entire law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may prosper and be successful wherever you go. ⁸This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall read [and meditate on] it day and night, so that you may be careful to do [everything] in accordance with all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will be ^[a]successful. ⁹Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not be terrified or dismayed (intimidated), for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Courage is born from confidence in our Creator.

Courage shows up 124 times in the Amplified translation of the Bible.

https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=courage&version=AMP

The dictionary definition of courage is “the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery.”

We aren’t promised an easy life following Christ Jesus, but we are guaranteed all we need is the courage drawn from living into, out from, the unchangeable moral, ethical truths in, and throughout the length and breadth of the Word of God to move forward boldly to accomplish what the Lord has set us here to do.

Halley’s Bible Handbook Notes explains “God’s superiority over idols is proven by His ability to foretell the future.

Says Isaiah, our God, whom we worship in our Hebrew nation, not only can do what human beings do, He can do some things that they cannot do: He can foretell things to come.”

Psalm 27:14 says,

“Wait patiently for the LORD. Be brave and courageous. Yes, with patiently for the LORD.”

Courage can be stillness, seeking the Lord and waiting patiently for His direction and wisdom.

Instead of rushing to the aid of others to download a situation in exchange for opinions, we wait on the Lord.

Instead of allowing our reactions to go unfiltered, we wait on the Lord’s direction.

It sometimes takes more courage to be still and silent.

Jesus often retreated to pray to the Lord, and returned strengthened.

Isaiah wrote:

“Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).

God is doing all of the work!

He is with us, and He is God!

He strengthens us and helps us. He holds us up in His victorious right hand. Christ Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father, victorious over death.

He willingly sacrificed His life for us on the cross, rose three days later, and then ascended into heaven to be seated at the right hand of His Father.

It’s His sacrifice and His victory we draw strength from!

Moses told God’s people, and Joshua, before they entered the promised land:

“So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the LORD you God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you” (Deuteronomy 31:6).

God is doing all of the work!

He is with us, and He is God!

He strengthens us and helps us. He holds us up in His victorious right hand.

Christ Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father, victorious over death.

He willingly sacrificed His life for us on the cross, rose three days later, and then ascended into heaven to be seated at the right hand of His Father.

It’s His sacrifice and His victory we draw strength from!

Moses told God’s people, and Joshua, before they entered the promised land:

“So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the LORD you God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you” (Deuteronomy 31:6).

Quickest Way From Timidity to Courage to Attitude Adjustment

Hebrews 4:12Amplified Bible

¹²For the word of God is living and active and full of power [making it operative, energizing, and effective]. It is sharper than any two-edged ^[a]sword, penetrating as far as the division of the ^[b]soul and spirit [the completeness of a person], and of both joints and marrow [the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and judging the very thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Have you ever found yourself in need of an attitude adjustment?

If so, be encouraged, as you’ve reached the most critical step in receiving one by acknowledging and recognizing, confessing and believing you are in need of it.

Realizing and recognizing there are wrong attitudes in your heart and mind is the breakthrough moment to a new attitude.

So many of us walk around, living day-to-day with no idea we might need some adjustments.

For sure, God is quick to recognize wrong attitudes in us, even if we think we’re covering them up with our words.

“These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me” (Matthew 15:8).

Although wrong attitudes are often easy for us to see in others, for some reason, they are usually very difficult to see in ourselves.

Because it is sometimes almost impossible to see wrong attitudes within us, what is the quickest way to an attitude adjustment?

As Hebrews 4:12 explains, when we commit to reading God’s Word, it has the power to cut through our soul and spirit and to judge our heart’s attitudes.

Nothing else in the world has the ability to do so like the living Word of God.

God’s Word Actively Exposes and Corrects Wrong Attitudes

God’s Word is so vital to our daily lives and the quickest way to recognize and reveal hidden mindsets, especially helpful in addressing and adjusting wrong and sinful attitudes.

Because it is alive and active, it doesn’t ever grow outdated or irrelevant to correct current incorrect thoughts and ways of thinking.

Before wrong attitudes can enter our hearts, God’s Word has the power to stop them before we accept them into our thinking.

As 2 Timothy 3:16 explains, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness”

Three Ways God’s Word Adjusts Attitudes

As well, Proverbs 6:21,22 describes three ways it has the ability to help us live daily with the right attitude when we take the time to make it the top priority in our lives by reading, studying, and applying it to our lives.

”Bind them always on your heart; fasten them around your neck. When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you.”

1. God’s Word guides our attitudes.

His Living Word will not ask our permission to take the lead in our lives to help us guide our thoughts, Words, and actions each and every day to be aligned with His ways over worldly wisdom and philosophies.

As 2 Corinthians 10:5 explains, with God’s Living and Active Word,

“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

2. God’s Word protects our attitudes as we sleep.

Have you ever woken up in a bad mood, feeling disgruntled, upset, negative, and on edge, not knowing why?

Well, that isn’t just by accident.

The enemy of our souls works through the night to influence our thoughts and attitudes.

But as Christians, we don’t have to wake up with wrong thinking and mindsets because God says His words will protect and watch over us when we’re sleeping, guarding our hearts and minds against the onslaught of the enemy’s attacks.

His Word works as a shield against the enemy’s midnight assaults.

As Proverbs 30:5 assures, “Every word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.”

3. God’s Word speaks to our attitudes during the day.

When we’re awake, God will personally speak to us through His Word.

Because it is alive and active, when we take the time to read it, study it and too, know it, God will speak to us through it at times when we need to hear His voice.

Although some think and believe God’s Word only speaks to us in a general way, truth and Holy Spirit reality reveals He speaks through it to our hearts, to our souls and minds in very personal deep, life-changing, transformational ways.

Intersecting Faith and Life:

How is your attitude today?

How is your attitude right exactly in this exacting moment?

Did you wake up in a bad mood?

Wake up on the Wrong side of the bed or the leftover grounds Coffee Pot?

Too many twists and turns and not enough “straight roads ahead?”

Everybody and their grandmother honking their horns behind a stalled car?

Most of us often don’t recognize wrong attitudes within ourselves, or even worse, until somebody else notices us, repeatedly, annoyingly starts tapping on our shoulder, or nudges their elbows in our ribcage and we justify having them.

If you and I are not sure how you and I are doing today, Pray to God to expose any wrong attitudes in your heart and correct wrong thinking with His Word.

A Hand holding a wrench to adjust the brain in an opened human head.
adjusting, fixing or changing, or creating a new ,better way of thinking.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Lord, today, in this moment I must confess that sometimes I choose to focus on the contraries and negatives, instead of focusing on what you’ve called me to focus on. Help me take the words of Philippians 4:8 to heart. Help me to find those Words of Scripture which in every moment of every day, will help me to narrow my focus onto whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely and admirable, so that my attitude may adjusted, fine tuned to reflect and honor you. As I practice shifting my perspective, keep my heart from growing cold or bitter. Teach me to remember that I am not a slave to my negative emotions. Because of your Holy Spirit, I can tell those emotions to be removed and turn my eyes to the things of you, instead. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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Benefits and Value of God’s Wisdom. Proverbs Chapter 2

Proverbs 2:1-5 English Standard Version

The Value of Wisdom

2 My son, if you receive my words
    and treasure up my commandments with you,
²making your ear attentive to wisdom
    and inclining your heart to understanding;
³yes, if you call out for insight
    and raise your voice for understanding,
⁴if you seek it like silver
    and search for it as for hidden treasures,
⁵then you will understand the fear of the Lord
    and find the knowledge of God.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

Wisdom, Knowledge and Happiness

As a boy, Charles Dickens knew poverty from bitter experience.

He never forgot what he had learned.

Many of his novels deal with the huge gap between wealth and poverty.

Perhaps the most unforgettable is A Christmas Carol.

Its main character, Ebenezer Scrooge, is a “grasping, clutching, covetous old sinner” who can squeeze blood out of a stone.

Bob Cratchit, his underpaid bookkeeper, shivers in his unheated corner of the office.

But Bob has learned to be content in his situation.

At the meager Cratchit-family Christmas dinner, Bob proposes a toast: “Merry Christmas to Mr. Scrooge, the founder of the feast!”

Mrs. Cratchit objects with the scornful words about Scrooge, but Bob, in all humility replies mildly, “My dear, it’s Christmas … and for the children!”

For all his poverty, Cratchit has wisdom and happiness.

But Scrooge, for all his wealth, has a bleak and miserable “business sense” life.

Here is something of the complexity and mystery about wealth and poverty.

Most people think and deeply believe that wealth brings happiness.

But that is not always so.

Happiness and contentment can exist in the midst of scarcity.

What’s more, the rich can be righteous, and they can be a blessing to the poor.

And just the opposite is equally true, the righteous poor can be a humble and humbled and humbling blessing to the rich – all one needs is a bit more wisdom.

Knowledge of God, Understanding of God through study of His Word, Faith in God, Wisdom from God and living by his love are the keys to finding happiness.

The “Keys” to “Finding” Happiness

Have you ever had someone try to sell you something? What’s the typical pattern a salesperson uses? First, they tell you all the amazing benefits of their service or product. “Our miracle product…

…will lower cholesterol…”
…will help you burn fat and lose weight…”
…will keep your information safe and secure…”
…will give you better gas mileage…”
…will make you happy and content…”

And then once you’re convinced they show you the price tag…

“For only four payments of $999.99…”
“If you only eat Subway for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day…”
“If you sign up for our monthly never-ending subscription-based service…”
“Your monthly car payment can be as low as…”
“If you sign your life and soul over we will…”

The typical pattern is—here’s the benefits and then here’s how you get them.

Today, I want to reverse that pattern.

First, I want to tell you how to get wisdom, then I want to tell you its benefits.

This is the pattern our passage takes and I like it because when I finally tell you the benefits of wisdom you’ll be able to weigh in your own mind if it’s worth it.

So first…

How to get Wisdom

Wisdom is “skill for living”, but living God’s way instead of our own way.

Once again the father-figure in Proverbs is teaching his son (who we can all put ourselves in the place of) how to get wisdom.

He tells him four ways to get wisdom (not four different ways).

You should do them all if you want to get wisdom.

Proverbs 2:1-5New International Version

Moral Benefits of Wisdom

2 My son, if you accept my words
    and store up my commands within you,
²turning your ear to wisdom
    and applying your heart to understanding—
³indeed, if you call out for insight
    and cry aloud for understanding,
⁴and if you look for it as for silver
    and search for it as for hidden treasure,
⁵then you will understand the fear of the Lord
    and find the knowledge of God.

The first way to get wisdom we find in verse one.

1. BELIEF IN GOD’S WORD (VERSE 1)

The father-figure says, “My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you…”

The author Solomon is talking about a father’s words found in the book of Proverbs, but he’s also talking about God’s whole Word, the Hebrew Scriptures.

The word for commands (mitzvah) can also mean the laws God gave his people Israel (Genesis 26:5; Exodus 26:28).

So it’s like Solomon or the father-figure is saying, “My son, if you want wisdom, believe in God’s Word.”

Each one of us comes to a turning point in our lives where we have to decide the final rule for our lives.

Is it going to be God’s unchanging perfect words and commands that although they are hard we know they are good, true, and best?

Or are we going to choose our own feelings and intuitions and desires and what the world says is best?

God’s Word offers us a firm-foundation for our lives, a foundation that won’t let us down.

But if we choose anything else we’re choosing something that might say one thing today and a different thing tomorrow.

Eggs are good for you. Eggs are bad for you.

Drink coffee. Coffee is bad for you.

Drink more milk. Drink soy milk. Drink almond milk.

Turn right when we should have turned left or stayed straight and narrow.

Stay with Gasoline Vehicles or “Go Green” with Hybrids and Electric cars.

This career path or that career path

How about with what we understand to be the “serious things” of our lives?

Changing and Shifting winds, sands, and crashing waves “defining” what our “correct” Morals and Ethics are “supposed to be” according to the wisest of the most educated, connected, influential, powerful, wealthy “people” on internet.

How many issues can you think or heard of where 10-20 years ago everyone said one things was seriously averse, now today people say just the opposite?

That is generational shifting sands, that’s stormy waters (James 1:5-8).

How about those who “stay the course on the narrow road” and stay steadfast:

“I only want to build my life on the rock of God’s Word that never changes!”

Resolving the Ceaseless Conflict between belief and unbelief in Christ the Lord.

Does knowledge and understanding the Word of God for His Children and the outpouring of the anointing oils its blessed wisdom still have any relevance?

First, we get wisdom by believing in God’s Word.

2. MEMORIZATION OF GOD’S WORD (VERSE 1)

We’re still in verse one. What does it mean to “store up” something?

Did any of you prepare for the Y2K bug?

So kids, a long time ago everyone was worried that when the clocks on our computers turned from December 31st 1999 to January 1st 2000 there was going to be a computer meltdown that would cause world food shortages and financial errors—basically, the apocalypse to end all apocalypses.

So prepare people stored up canned food, powdered food, dried food, and water and drinks that would not go bad.

Our single person household bought whole shelves of Kool-Aid powdered drink.

So by golly if the world failed I am still going to have a storehouse of Kool-Aid.

And when Y2K came and no one but Blockbuster video had problems I still had my Kool-Aid powdered drink, for a while it tasted good, then I got tired of it all.

Wisdom ended up throwing most of it out, to this day wisdom will not drink it.

I “stored up” for the long term to avert disaster.

But so much of what I had stored up for the long term spoiled, went to waste.

Likewise, God calls us to “store up” his Word within us to avert disaster in our lives.

How do we do that?

By memorizing themes and passages weaved in and throughout the Bible.

I want to encourage everyone to “store up” God’s Word in our own hearts because God uses it to strengthen us, give us hope, and teach us how to live.

Outline, underline, color mark foundational verses from the bible – what text speaks to your heart and to your soul and to your life at the moment you read it.

Put it on your mirror or fold it over in your Bible, somewhere you will see it and memorize it.

Read, study, pray and memorize other verses too, one’s that will remind you of the never ending relevance, significance of hope and God’s love and promises.

Second, we get wisdom by memorizing God’s Word.

3. ACCEPTANCE OF GOD’S WORD (VERSE 2)

Proverbs 2:2 says to turn our ears to wisdom and apply our hearts to understanding.

Do you ever get in a disagreement and the person you are fighting with says, “You’re not listening to me!”

Sometimes that’s true.

One person is not paying attention because they’re too busy talking or thinking.

But usually that means “You’re not agreeing with me.”

Proverbs 2:2 is saying to get wisdom we need to hear it with our ears and accept it with our hearts and agree to it with our lives.

We need to open ourselves up and let God’s Words and ways sink deep into who we are.

In Hebrew culture the heart was the core of a person, their true identity.

We do not want God’s Word to go in one ear and out the other, but go in through the ear, through the mind, and down deep into our heart.

When I prepare devotionals that’s one of the things I think about.

I want God’s Word to affect me first but then I want it to affect you all too.

We don’t want to just sit here and hear without listing or agreeing.

The absolute significance of God’s Word and truth is too eternally important.

Third, we get wisdom by accepting God’s Word.

4. ASK GOD FOR IT THROUGH PRAYER (VERSES 3 AND 4)

This is perhaps the simplest way to get wisdom, ask God for it.

Verse 3 tells us to “call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding” (NIV).

If you and I want wisdom, pray that God will give us some.

Sometimes prayer is the only step we take.

We ask God for wisdom but we don’t try to memorize and understand his Word.

Prayer goes hand and hand with God’s Word.

It’s like peanut butter and jelly or eggs and bacon or it is like fish and chips.

God’s Word and prayer together make a delicious wisdom platter.

If you and I want wisdom, we have to ask God for it. (1 Kings 3:5-15)

James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. (NIV)

One of the points Spurgeon makes is that wisdom isn’t just knowing how to “be wise ‘enough’ to make the ‘right decisions’,” but wisdom is a character quality molded, shaped, then reshaped by “interpreting” our experiences.

When you and I pray for wisdom it’s not only that we would make the right choice (it is that) but it’s also praying that God would make us into the kind of people who would make the right choice.

It’s praying God would mold, shape, develop and transform our moral and our ethical character so we choose to do we do it with integrity and discernment.

So how do we get wisdom?

First, by believing in God’s Word.

Second, by studying and memorizing God’s Word.

Third, by accepting God’s Word,

and fourth, by asking God for wisdom through prayer.

Now I’ve told you how to get wisdom, but what are the benefits of wisdom?

What makes it worth doing all those things?

What makes it worth signing up for and sitting inside a classroom for?

The Benefits and Value of Wisdom

The point of these things is not just to do them for the sake of doing them, but for the sake of something greater.

Did you ever watch those old Mastercard commercials?

A man and woman walk into a gas station.

As the gas station attendant rings up their purchases he says:

chips: $3
frozen beverage: $2
gas: $31
starting a new life together: priceless…

But then the woman shakes her head “no” so the gas station attendant tries again.

rekindling a fire that never went out? (she shakes her head again)
satisfying a much-needed slushy fix?… Priceless.

So what’s the priceless things we are seeking by pursuing wisdom?

God himself.

Proverbs 2:5-6New International Version

⁵then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
⁶For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

Verse 5 says if we seek wisdom, “then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.”

The fear of the Lord is believing that God’s “threats are real and his promises are true”.

Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection from the grave shows us that God’s threats are real—that if we don’t deal with our sins he will put us to death—but his promises are real—that if we put our faith and trust in him he will forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

It’s as we come to understand who God is through Christ Jesus that we begin to actually know God.

Do you want to know about God or know God?

You might know a lot of things about your favorite celebrity or professional sports athlete, you might know what movies they’re in or their batting average, but that doesn’t mean you know them.

There’s a simple test for if you know them.

Do they know you?

If I were to walk up to Tom Cruise or Tom Brady and if I were to name drop your name what would they say?

“Oh yeah. I know him!” Or more likely … “I am sorry, Who?”

Come with me one step further.

If I were to walk up to God and to name drop your name what would he say?

“Oh yes, I know him/her. I love him/her very much … Or “I am sorry, Who?”

We seek wisdom because we’re seeking God.

We want to know him.

But the next verse tells us this is only possible by God’s grace.

Proverbs 2:6
For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. (NIV)

We can only know God if we want to acknowledge God, to know us.

We can only acquire wisdom if God wants to give it to us.

It’s both an “as we seek” and an “as he gives” kind of exchange.

We seek to obey and know God and God gives us a relationship with him.

Or put it in the reverse.

God gives us a relationship with him and so we obey and know God.

What’s the priceless benefit of wisdom? Knowing God himself.

The benefits just keep growing out of this.

If you know God you are part of the family and God protects you.

Proverbs 2:7-8New International Version

⁷He holds success in store for the upright,
he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
⁸for he guards the course of the just
and protects the way of his faithful ones.

Benefit and Value of God’s Protection (Verses 7-19)

Proverbs 2:7-19 New International Version

⁷He holds success in store for the upright,
he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
⁸for he guards the course of the just
and protects the way of his faithful ones.

⁹Then you will understand what is right and just
    and fair—every good path.
¹⁰For wisdom will enter your heart,
    and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
¹¹Discretion will protect you,
    and understanding will guard you.

¹²Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men,
    from men whose words are perverse,
¹³who have left the straight paths
    to walk in dark ways,
¹⁴who delight in doing wrong
    and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,
¹⁵whose paths are crooked
    and who are devious in their ways.

¹⁶Wisdom will save you also from the adulterous woman,
    from the wayward woman with her seductive words,
¹⁷who has left the partner of her youth
    and ignored the covenant she made before God.^[a]
¹⁸Surely her house leads down to death
    and her paths to the spirits of the dead.
¹⁹None who go to her return
    or attain the paths of life.

God’s wisdom grants us protection from potential disasters.

I don’t mean natural disasters but rather God’s wisdom protect us from ourselves, from bad things we might do.

God’s wisdom protects us from:

Committing injustice (v9-11) – Sinning against others by treating them unfairly. If God gives us his wisdom we will want to treat others with fairness and equity even at cost to ourselves.
Wicked men (or women) who love sin (v12-15) – “those who take advantage of others for their own gain.” As God grants us wisdom and character like His we won’t be drawn to them but will learn how to recognize them for who they are.
Unfaithful women (or men) who break their marriage promise (v16-19) – Verse 16 says that “Wisdom will save you […] from the wayward woman with her seductive words.” (NIV) Sometimes beauty might cause a break in marriage vows but often it is words, words of affirmation and acceptance. It’s a listening ear. Emotional adultery comes before acting it out. God gives us wisdom so we know how to stay away from relationships that lead to this kind of disaster.

But there’s one more benefit to wisdom.

A FOREVER HOME WITH GOD (VERSES 20 to 22)

Proverbs 2:20-22New International Version

²⁰Thus you will walk in the ways of the good
    and keep to the paths of the righteous.
²¹For the upright will live in the land,
    and the blameless will remain in it;
²²but the wicked will be cut off from the land,
    and the unfaithful will be torn from it.

Proverbs 2:21 says, “For the upright will live in the land, and the blameless will remain in it;” (NIV)

It’s an interesting way to close this passage in Proverbs because it’s a reminder to the Israelite people that they get to stay in the promised land if they obey God and keep his commandments (Exodus 20:1-17).

But where’s the promise for us?

The benefits of wisdom are knowing God, protection from mistakes in this life, and an eternal home with God in the life to come.

Hebrews says that the heroes of our faith “were longing for a better country—a heavenly one” (Hebrews 11:16).

If that’s you, if you are the one longing for a better home, then pursue wisdom.

Seek God by believing his Word, memorizing it, accepting it, and prayer.

John 14:5-14New International Version

Jesus the Way to the Father

⁵Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

⁶Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷If you really know me, you will know^[a] my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

⁸Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

⁹Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. ¹¹Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. ¹²Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

Wisdom is a gift, but it’s a gift we help work for.

Knowing God is a gift!

Spending eternity with him is a gift!

His protection is a gift!

But they are gifts we have to choose to seek by choosing to seek His wisdom.

John 14:1-3New International Version

Jesus Comforts His Disciples

14 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God^[a]; believe also in me. ²My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? ³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

Let our hearts not be troubled.

Believe in God!

Believe in His Resurrected Son, Jesus!

Believe in God’s Holy Spirit!

Let our Hearts Seek His wisdom and we WILL find our forever home with God!

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Holy God, Word made flesh,
let us come to this word open to being surprised.
Silence our agendas; banish our assumptions; cast out our casual detachment.
Confound our expectations; clear the cobwebs from our ears;
penetrate the corners of our hearts with this word.
We know that you can, we pray that you will,
and we wait with great anticipation. Amen.

Empty us, Great God, of all that prevents us
from hearing what you want us to hear.
Empty us of our preconceptions,
our preoccupations and our prejudices.
Empty us that we might be filled
with your Spirit and your Word.
Empty us that we might be filled for ministry and mission.
In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.

Calm us now, O Lord, into a quietness that heals and listens.
Open wounded hearts to the balm of your Word.
Speak to us in clear tones so that we might feel our spirits leap for joy
and skip with a living hope as your resurrection witnesses. Amen.

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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Prerequisites for Purposeful Living: “Give Ear and Hear My voice, Listen and Hear My Speech.” Proverbs 2:1-5

Proverbs 2:1-5 The Message

Make Insight Your Priority

2 ^1-5Good friend, take to heart what I’m telling you;
    collect my counsels and guard them with your life.
Tune your ears to the world of Wisdom;
    set your heart on a life of Understanding.
That’s right—if you make Insight your priority,
    and won’t take no for an answer,
Searching for it like a prospector panning for gold,
    like an adventurer on a treasure hunt,
Believe me, before you know it Fear-of-God will be yours;
    you’ll have come upon the Knowledge of God.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

On a brochure I saw in the Narthex of a new church I read these words in red:

“If I am really a Christian … then why isn’t Jesus Christ more real in my life?”

It made for rather interesting reading considering the church was a new plant and had only opened its doors to the community a scant ninety days before.

It was actually quite thought provoking – even more so than I first expected.

If you have ever wondered about that, “why isn’t Jesus more real to me,” you should know that you are not the first and you will not be the last one either.

Even writers of the Bible, especially the psalmists, wrestled with this question.

Even the Book of Proverbs offers its readers many intriguing statements which even today have turned into contemporary Parent to Children admonishments.

1. Many hands make light work

When many people work together to accomplish a difficult task, it doesn’t seem so difficult. That is the general meaning of this proverb. In other words, if many people work together, the work is easier and is usually completed more quickly.

2. Honesty is the best policy

It is best to always be honest and tell the truth, even when telling the truth hurts you. By doing so, humbling self will win the trust and respect of others.

3. Don’t judge a book by its cover

Don’t be too quick to form an opinion or make a judgment about someone or something based on its outward appearance – you could embarrass yourself.

4. Where there’s a will, there’s always a way

If your desire to accomplish something is strong enough, you will find a way to do it.

5. Actions speak louder than words

A person’s true character can be seen by what he does, not by what he says. A person can talk as much as he wants, but he may not actually do anything to back up his words. All the bluster and bravado of leadership loses its luster if the one doing all of the bragging inevitably does nothing, retreats from their words.

6. Always put your best foot forward

The meaning of this proverb is that you should always try your best to make a good first impression on others; reveal and show your best traits and qualities.

7. Do not be wise in thine own eyes

The meaning of this proverb is very clear: the consistent witness of Scripture is that Jehovah God and God alone is the One, only true source of wisdom and life.

If we are faith-filled and faithful in following Him, He will “abundantly” bless us; if not, in our own self righteousness, we risk significant peril and judgment.

One of the most dangerous traps we can fall prey to is justifying ourselves based on our own self reported, ideals, definitions and understandings of judgment.

When we assume that we are more in the right than not and others are more in the wrong than not, including “God is more wrong,” it is a recipe for disaster.

When we automatically assume we are smarter than others, then find out we are not … much to our detriment and personal embarrassment – “eating crow.”

When we try to assume that our understanding of smart is the same as God’s and we come up square against the mirrors of our wildest display of ignorance.

The Book of Proverbs puts our perspective of our lives directly in God’s face, the end result is we invariably learn we are neither smarter nor wiser than anyone.

God desires we understand balancing our life, morals and ethics with His Ways.

We desire and boast of our own abilities, about how we ourselves balance our own lives with our own understanding of own morals and ethics absent God.

There are many reasons, of course, why people might sometimes feel that way.

I will let each reader draw from their own experiences for their own rationales.

Wisdom of Self Reliance versus Wisdom of Reliance on God and God alone?

One place to start in reflecting on this is to recognize that God highly desires and also highly values an ever growing spiritual depth, maturity in his people.

Not necessarily intellectual depth or all kinds of biblical knowledge —though these things are good—but connectional depth in relationship with God, as opposed to the shallowness, superficiality of human to human relationships.

“That we may know HIM more, that we may know OUR selves less.” (John 3:30)

Proverbs 2:1-5 talks about accepting and storing up and turning our ear and soul and applying our heart and calling out for insight and crying aloud for greater and greater understanding of God and looking and searching for God.

It uses action words like these; applying, calling, crying, looking, searching for, to describe what we should be actively engaging in our daily pursuit of wisdom.

Bottom line?

If we want to have it,

If we have to want it,

We have to be willing to engage in a process which involves actual action.

We have to be fully committed to the pursuit, wantonly going after wisdom.

It will take an enormous amount of work, and it will take your whole heart.

Most things, which nowadays, humanity is quite more reluctant to engage in.

But, without that, God, Jesus and Holy Spirit—and wisdom—won’t seem real.

With my eyes being widened from their slumber ….

With a constant sensation of a “tap tap tap” upon my shoulders ….

With someone or something putting their “elbows” into my side ….

With my interest being peaked ….

With my soul being quickened by something or someone ….

It makes me want to dig a little deeper, again.

It makes me want to listen more to what the Holy Spirit is trying to say to me.

“Where is Jehovah God nudging me towards … what future with what hope?”

What if we really listen and hear what God really says in Proverbs?

Proverbs 2:1-5 Amplified Bible

The Pursuit of Wisdom Brings Security

2 My son, if you will receive my words
And treasure my commandments within you,
²
So that your ear is attentive to [skillful and godly] wisdom,
And apply your heart to understanding [seeking it conscientiously and striving for it eagerly];
³
Yes, if you cry out for insight,
And lift up your voice for understanding;
⁴
If you seek skillful and godly wisdom as you would silver
And search for her as you would hidden treasures;
⁵
Then you will understand the [reverent] fear of the Lord [that is, worshiping Him and regarding Him as truly awesome]
And discover the knowledge of God.

Have you ever thought about the difference between hearing and listening?

Did you know there was a real difference?

To “listen” means that we are paying attention to the sound, thoughtful and considerate attention to the sound.

To “hear” refers to perceiving something with our ears, kind of like seeing with our ears.

In the long and winding concourse of living and loving life today there are quite literally hundreds of diverse noises a day which are competing for our attention.

There are so many different noises and sounds that most of us do not pay very much attention to most of them – we shut them out as “background noises.”

The television can be on, the phone ringing, video games blasting, radios in our ears and everyone in my house talking at once and I can still tune most of it out.

It is not I am not hearing all the cacophony of noise, but I am not listening to it.

But all of that discipline of “tuning out,” and “not listening” carries a big risk.

What else am I “tuning out,” or “not hearing” or “listening to?”

Psalm 19:1-3 Amplified Bible

The Works and the Word of God.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

19 The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And the expanse [of heaven] is declaring the work of His hands.
²
Day after day pours forth speech,
And night after night reveals knowledge.
³
There is no speech, nor are there [spoken] words [from the stars];
Their voice is not heard.

My Mom used to tell me when everything seemed to be going backwards;

“Look unto the sun by day and the stars by night and know it will be alright!”

God gave us eyes to see the sunshine, beauty and grandeur of nature around us.

God gave us a curiosity that when we see the stars at night – we have to know just how many of them we can count – so we lie back on the ground and count.

God also gave each and everyone of us two ears to hear the beauty of sound and one mouth, He gave us the ability to listen so that the sound can be understood.

When both hearing and listening and minimal speaking working together in unison, we have a quiet, quieted, understanding of the purpose of the sound.

You can hear music and feel music but not actually listen to the words.

When both music and lyrics are understood, the beauty and meaning of the whole song is revealed to you.

You can hear the words of a person speaking to you, but if you truly listen to the person, you will better understand their heart, the meaning behind their words.

The same principle holds true with God’s Word.

We can hear the Word preached, taught and read.

We can read the Word ourselves and hear our own voices speak it.

But, when we really listen to God’s Word, then our understanding begins to change.

So many times, people leave church after having heard a sermon and not ever remember anything about it.

When we look up to the heavens, we may only hear the sound of the winds rushing through the trees, crickets or the frogs in the pond, birds in the air.

We cannot see the winds nor the crickets nor the frogs nor the birds in the air.

We know they are there because we can hear the sounds of the winds through the leaves, from rubbing of the crickets legs, frogs croaking and birds singing

When we are listening and giving consideration to what we are hearing, we will leave thinking about what we just heard.

The next step is to start talking back to God, asking Him to open up more of our hearts and souls to understanding what is being communicated from all sides.

Take time today, think about how much you hear versus how much you listen.

How much are you missing of what God has for you?

Is He talking to you but you are not paying attention?

Take your Bible, dust off its cover and read today’s text from Proverbs 2:1-5.

Instead of just reading the words and hearing them in our heads, pray the Holy Spirit will give us the power to listen, to understand the message God has for us.

When the Word of God truly becomes His voice in our life, then our hearing and our listening will open up our souls unto a new world of understanding for us.

Our lives are guaranteed to change.

But it all begins with God’s wisdom which comes from understanding the difference between hearing and listening—so, start listening to God today.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Jehovah God, Lord of wisdom, Author of my life, there are so any truths to sort out, so many ways of understanding what my eyes behold and what my ears hear, I cannot listen to it all for it is just too overwhelming. Being overwhelmed, I am sometimes finding understanding the wisdom of Bible to be difficult. I know you want me to apply your word to my life. I thank you for giving me your word so I can grow in my relationship with you. Help me to grasp what you want me to know as I read your revealed word. Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your instructions. Be my teacher, so I can live and obey your word. Thank you for your wise advice. Amen.

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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John 14:1-6Amplified Bible

Jesus Comforts His Disciples

What About this “Heavenly Mansion, Heavenly Home?”

Ecclesiastes 3:11-13Amplified Bible

God Set Eternity in the Heart of Man

Where is Heaven?

John 14:1-3Easy-to-Read Version

Jesus Comforts His Followers

Hebrews 12:22-24Amplified Bible

What is Heaven Like?

Jesus Has Our Eternal Travel Itinerary Already Prepared For Us

John 14:1-7 The Message

The Road

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Philippians 1:12-14The Message

They Can’t Imprison the Message

For GOD my Savior and for the Sake of the Gospel

Philippians 1:12-14Amplified Bible

The Gospel Is Preached

Psalm 40The Message

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Luke 14:7-14 Amplified Bible

Parable of the Guests

Parable of the Honored Ambitious Guests …

Jesus Teaches About Ambition, Humility, Service

Luke 14:7-14The Message

Invite the Misfits

Be Ambitious and Humble Yourself and Be Exalted …

Humility and the “Ambitious Famous” Christian

A True Act of Ambitious Charity …

Greatness and Servanthood and Ambition …

Matthew 20:20-28Amplified Bible

Preferred Treatment Asked

Some final reflections and ambitious thoughts …

Overly Ambitious Thoughts and Overly Ambitious Christians

Matthew 5:13-16 Amplified Bible

Disciples and the World

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Matthew 18:1-6Amplified Bible

Rank in the Kingdom

Growing Up to Become a Child

Descriptions of a Childlike Faith

Faith which is Rooted in Security

Psalm 131:1-2Amplified Bible

Childlike Trust in the Lord.

A Song of [a]Ascents. Of David.

Faith Which Praises

Matthew 19:13-15Amplified Bible

Jesus Blesses Little Children

Faith Which Believes

Faith Which is Humble

Hebrews 12:1-3Amplified Bible

Jesus, the Example

Matthew 18:6Amplified Bible

Concluding Thoughts ….

Psalm 17The Message

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Luke 24:28-35 Amplified Bible

Joyful, joyful, we adore thee,God of glory, Lord of love;hearts unfold like flowers before thee,opening to the sun above.Melt the clouds of sin and sadness;drive the dark of doubt away.Giver of immortal gladness,fill us with the light of day!

Luke 24:28-35 The Message

A Ghost Doesn’t Have Muscle and Bone

5 Ways You Can Enjoy Christ

1. Engage His Presence

2. Engage His Promises

When You’re Between a Rock and a Hard Place

3. Engage and Value His Purpose

4. Engage His People

Make a friend, Be a friend, Bring a friend to Christ ….

5. Engage His Position

Build Your Relationship

Psalm 100 The Message

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John 5:1-9Amplified Bible

The Healing at Bethesda

How to Surrender to God’s Healing in Your Life …

A Song of ^[a]Ascents. Of David.

Joyful, joyful, we adore thee,
God of glory, Lord of love;
hearts unfold like flowers before thee,
opening to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness;
drive the dark of doubt away.
Giver of immortal gladness,
fill us with the light of day!