Mark 6:38-39 "How many loaves do you have? "Five, and two fish."
Jesus commanded them all, 5000 families, to sit down in groups on the green grass.
HE looked up to Heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves.
And all 5,000 ate and were satisfied.
And He sent the disciples to Bethsaida by boat on a way-too-windy Sea of Galilee. And He went upon on the mountain overlooking the Sea to pray.
He came walking on Galilee's Sea to rescue the disciples at the Fourth Watch of the Night. "Take Heart. It is I. Do not be afraid."
Five years ago, I hit the lowest depression, even a disconnection. Didn't handle my overwhelming pain well. More concerned about my pain and being rescued than about being holy. I asked my good friend how I would ever make it through this dark night of my soul. He looked at me and said: Mark 6:38. Five Loaves and Two Fish. Mark 6:52 says that the disciples didn't understand about the loaves, because their hearts were hardened. God melted my heart then, Psalm 147:18, and has never stopped doing me good, Jer. 24:6. HE commands us to sit down and He sends His Winds and my freezing soul thaws.
Will I trust again a very Good God to take this day what I offer to Him, 5 Loaves and 2 Fish, and---by His Power---Melt this heart of mine, O God!
Love never allows more Suffering
unless to achieve the Well Being of the Beloved. 66 LL
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Mark 6:27 "The Sheer Sound of Silence" (February 27)
Mark 6
The Miraculous Healing of a Demoniac...demons sent into 2,000 pigs...and they cared more about the pigs.
Followed by Desperate Daughters who just needed the Touch of Jesus Christ.
Now silence...sheer sound of silence, Psalm 46:10 The Message...
Herodias wants the head of John the Baptist on a platter. Mark 6:27
And Immediately, the King had John beheaded in prison...and there was the sheer sound of silence from Jesus---Psalm 46:10---Be Still & Know that I Am God (Message).
What did His disciples think as they laid a headless body in a tomb? Beloved John. Family.
Is a full life about getting to walk your son down the aisle on his wedding day? What does the abundant life look like?
The Miraculous Healing of a Demoniac...demons sent into 2,000 pigs...and they cared more about the pigs.
Followed by Desperate Daughters who just needed the Touch of Jesus Christ.
Now silence...sheer sound of silence, Psalm 46:10 The Message...
Herodias wants the head of John the Baptist on a platter. Mark 6:27
And Immediately, the King had John beheaded in prison...and there was the sheer sound of silence from Jesus---Psalm 46:10---Be Still & Know that I Am God (Message).
What did His disciples think as they laid a headless body in a tomb? Beloved John. Family.
Is a full life about getting to walk your son down the aisle on his wedding day? What does the abundant life look like?
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Mark 5:36 "Desperate Daughters Arise" (February 26)
Mark 5: 23 Jairus, a wealthy ruler of the synagogue, fell at Jesus feet in this city of Capernaum, asking Jesus to come lay His Hands on his sick 12-year-old Daughter.
Meanwhile there's another daughter in Mark 5:29, a desperate woman who had suffered much under may physicians who came just to touch His Garment to be healed. "Daughter, your faith has made you well, go in peace..."
What an odd response in verse 35 when someone from the Ruler's house informed the father that his daughter was dead. They said: Why trouble the Teacher any further? How sad. Do we take that kind of party line in our discerning the events of the day. Don't need to bother Jesus with this one. Not anything He can or will do about it. Verse 36 is a verse that has carried this Desperate Daughter over the past decades. "Do not fear, only believe." The tense in the Greek is progressive---Keep On Believing, no matter what! Speaks to deep places in my heart.
They had a long daily walk around the Sea of Galilee to the Ruler of the synagogue's home. What did they talk about? What did the ruler think knowing his daughter was already dead. Jesus carried the Ruler and the Ruler's story in his breaking heart around the calm sea. They arrived to find chaos, commotion, crying at the Ruler's home. Taking the daughter by the hand, Jesus said: "Arise" and the Greek means to "stir oneself up" "to wake up" "to become alive." Stir myself up, O God please help! And the word in the Greek means to rise from that which is dead. That's it. I Cor 15:31 says that I die daily. And my God is raising me up from what is so dead in my life. And immediately this daughter got up and became alive.
Two dead daughters over the past 12 years. One facing her own death, trapped in a body not cooperating. Another daughter suddenly dead.
What would it look like for me to keep on believing in the midst of my own present darkness? Arise, o my soul. Arise from my dark, dead places in my life and give us life. Carry me, Sweet Jesus, to the One Who Gives Life.
Meanwhile there's another daughter in Mark 5:29, a desperate woman who had suffered much under may physicians who came just to touch His Garment to be healed. "Daughter, your faith has made you well, go in peace..."
What an odd response in verse 35 when someone from the Ruler's house informed the father that his daughter was dead. They said: Why trouble the Teacher any further? How sad. Do we take that kind of party line in our discerning the events of the day. Don't need to bother Jesus with this one. Not anything He can or will do about it. Verse 36 is a verse that has carried this Desperate Daughter over the past decades. "Do not fear, only believe." The tense in the Greek is progressive---Keep On Believing, no matter what! Speaks to deep places in my heart.
They had a long daily walk around the Sea of Galilee to the Ruler of the synagogue's home. What did they talk about? What did the ruler think knowing his daughter was already dead. Jesus carried the Ruler and the Ruler's story in his breaking heart around the calm sea. They arrived to find chaos, commotion, crying at the Ruler's home. Taking the daughter by the hand, Jesus said: "Arise" and the Greek means to "stir oneself up" "to wake up" "to become alive." Stir myself up, O God please help! And the word in the Greek means to rise from that which is dead. That's it. I Cor 15:31 says that I die daily. And my God is raising me up from what is so dead in my life. And immediately this daughter got up and became alive.
Two dead daughters over the past 12 years. One facing her own death, trapped in a body not cooperating. Another daughter suddenly dead.
What would it look like for me to keep on believing in the midst of my own present darkness? Arise, o my soul. Arise from my dark, dead places in my life and give us life. Carry me, Sweet Jesus, to the One Who Gives Life.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Mark 5:3 "Words That Hold Me Back" (February 25)
Mark 5:2 Immediately (there's that word again), out of the tombs came a man with an unclean spirit. What kind of people live among the tombs of the dead? What darkness, what death, what aloneness. There was no one there. The graves were way out of the city. Hauntingly alone. No person, no words could bind him anymore. Not even chains could bind him any longer. No one had the strength to subdue him. But when he saw Jesus from afar, the unclean man ran and fell down before Him acknowledging that HE was the Son of God! I mean, he knew! "What have you to do with me Son of the Most High God? Do not torment me." And so Jesus sends the unclean spirits living in one soul into 2,000 pigs. And every pig drowned...and the people cared more about the pigs than the person. Not only that, they became afraid when they saw the demon-possessed man clothed and in his right mind. Who gave him the clothes? They weren't afraid of darkness but afraid of light.
The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they begged Jesus to leave the whole area. It was just too much disruption of their controlled comfortable lives. Let's put some distance here. Distance, our most lethal problem. Stiff-armed their Savior. Rejected their Redeemer. And, the man delivered from himself, from his own demons, he went into the city to share what God had done for him. And they marveled at the Wonder of it all. Once again, no words now can bind this freed man. No, not even chains now can hold him back from testifying to the Gospel of Grace. What words hold me back this day?
The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they begged Jesus to leave the whole area. It was just too much disruption of their controlled comfortable lives. Let's put some distance here. Distance, our most lethal problem. Stiff-armed their Savior. Rejected their Redeemer. And, the man delivered from himself, from his own demons, he went into the city to share what God had done for him. And they marveled at the Wonder of it all. Once again, no words now can bind this freed man. No, not even chains now can hold him back from testifying to the Gospel of Grace. What words hold me back this day?
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Mark 4:22 "Sovereign Still" (February 24)
The Kingdom of God is the Rule of our Sovereign God over all creatures.
over all our SECRETS: That which is hidden from our minds will be made manifest. Those secrets will come to light. Mark 4:22
over all our UNKNOWN: The Kingdom is growing in me and in you, and we "know not how." Mark 4:27
over all our GROWTH: The smallest of all seeds on earth grows up to become larger than all the garden plants around---so much so that birds make their home in its shade. One day, we can offer shade to those who are scorched and thirsty. Mark 4:32
over all our FEARS: Jesus awoke in the midst of the storm. "Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?" And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, Who is This? that even the Winds and the Waves obey Him? Mark 4:41
Our Beautiful God is Sovereign over all the affairs of our lives. Whether we are in a storm afraid or trying to grow some shade or hiding secrets or living in the unknown---He is still sovereign so. Wonder where I hold on this day to refuse His Rule and say: You aren't sovereign in this...
over all our SECRETS: That which is hidden from our minds will be made manifest. Those secrets will come to light. Mark 4:22
over all our UNKNOWN: The Kingdom is growing in me and in you, and we "know not how." Mark 4:27
over all our GROWTH: The smallest of all seeds on earth grows up to become larger than all the garden plants around---so much so that birds make their home in its shade. One day, we can offer shade to those who are scorched and thirsty. Mark 4:32
over all our FEARS: Jesus awoke in the midst of the storm. "Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?" And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, Who is This? that even the Winds and the Waves obey Him? Mark 4:41
Our Beautiful God is Sovereign over all the affairs of our lives. Whether we are in a storm afraid or trying to grow some shade or hiding secrets or living in the unknown---He is still sovereign so. Wonder where I hold on this day to refuse His Rule and say: You aren't sovereign in this...
Mark 4:20 "Sehnsucht" (February 23)
The disciples and others stay after the seaside teachings about the Word falling on our hearts. They long for more. Sehnsucht (1000 Gifts)---that's what C.S. Lewis calls it---longing and lingering like a maniac, long after all have gone home. You're still there! Those that stayed are the ones who are hungry for the Word. So makes me want to listen to what Jesus is really saying here:
4 Scenarios await us when we hear the Word of God:
1. Satan "immediately" (there's that Greek word frequenting Mark) comes and *TAKES AWAY* the Word that is sown in us at church, on your sofa, at your desk, in your car, from a tape, when you read...
2. You "immediately" (there it is again) receive the Word with *JOY* but you have no roots inside yourself so the Word "immediately" slides right out of your heart when troubles and tribulations come...
3. The cares (and we have so many) of this world and our desires for other things besides the Love of our Christ, *C-H-O-K-E* the Word.
4. *HEAR* the Word. *ACCEPT* the Word. Let Him *BEAR FRUIT* in due time. "Let us look to the Lord, that by His New-Creating Grace, our hearts may become Good Ground" with the Word producing Words and Works to His Glory.
On Accepting the Word: If it was a mere act of our mind, a YES with a nod to accept the Word, we would all bear fruit in abundance. What does it truly mean to accept this Living Word into our lives? What must we let go of this moment to hold on to that Grace upon Grace vying for a Place in our hearts. What must I do? What do I want? To Whom shall we go? What do you seek? Am I longing for more? Sehnsucht.
4 Scenarios await us when we hear the Word of God:
1. Satan "immediately" (there's that Greek word frequenting Mark) comes and *TAKES AWAY* the Word that is sown in us at church, on your sofa, at your desk, in your car, from a tape, when you read...
2. You "immediately" (there it is again) receive the Word with *JOY* but you have no roots inside yourself so the Word "immediately" slides right out of your heart when troubles and tribulations come...
3. The cares (and we have so many) of this world and our desires for other things besides the Love of our Christ, *C-H-O-K-E* the Word.
4. *HEAR* the Word. *ACCEPT* the Word. Let Him *BEAR FRUIT* in due time. "Let us look to the Lord, that by His New-Creating Grace, our hearts may become Good Ground" with the Word producing Words and Works to His Glory.
On Accepting the Word: If it was a mere act of our mind, a YES with a nod to accept the Word, we would all bear fruit in abundance. What does it truly mean to accept this Living Word into our lives? What must we let go of this moment to hold on to that Grace upon Grace vying for a Place in our hearts. What must I do? What do I want? To Whom shall we go? What do you seek? Am I longing for more? Sehnsucht.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Mark 3:35 "Jesus Calls Me Affectionately" (February 22)
Mark 3:33-35 "Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you. And He answered them, 'Who are My mother and My brothers?' And looking about at those who sat around Him, He said, 'Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother.' "
How dear is that? Jesus calls me and you that most affectionate name of dear mother, dear sister. He names us when we follow Him to do His Will. Today is my daughter Blair's birthday. I'm the only one in the whole world that she calls "Mother." Except for the Holy One who calls me his "Mother" when I live for Someone higher than my own good. His Will be done, mine undone.
There are only two kinds of people in the end:
Those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and
Those to whom God says, in the end, "Thy will be done."
C. S. Lewis
How dear is that? Jesus calls me and you that most affectionate name of dear mother, dear sister. He names us when we follow Him to do His Will. Today is my daughter Blair's birthday. I'm the only one in the whole world that she calls "Mother." Except for the Holy One who calls me his "Mother" when I live for Someone higher than my own good. His Will be done, mine undone.
There are only two kinds of people in the end:
Those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and
Those to whom God says, in the end, "Thy will be done."
C. S. Lewis
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Mark 3:8 "Sin-Sick World" (February 21)
Mark 3:8 When the Geat Crowd heard all that He was doing, they came to Him. And He told His disciples to have a boat ready for Him because of the crowd, lest they crush Him, for He had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around Him to touch Him. Jesus perceived their thoughts. He stood in Love in the midst of such overwhelming sin. The Pharisees had traveled all the way from Jerusalem to the Synagogue to prove Him wrong. To plot to kill Him A sin-sick world. Better to kill Him than let Him give life from pain and frustration, life even from ourselves. Jesus moves His ministry from synagogue to seaside. Come, Rise Up, and Follow Me, oh sin-sick sea-sick world.
Every sin is an attempt to fly from emptiness. Simone Weil
Every sin is an attempt to fly from emptiness. Simone Weil
Mark 2:4 "Paralyzed in Faith/ Frozen in Fear" (February 20)
Mark 2:4 "When they could not get near Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic: Son, your sins are forgiven." Now, who minded that four friends lowered their paralyzed friend on a cot through the roof of Peter's house? The owners of the house were silenced by it. Friends and neighbors who knew the afflicted man were hushed as well. The only ones speaking up were the lettered men, The pharisaical Scribes, who thought it wasn't a very spiritual move. Jesus loved the faith shown by these friends. Let's bring to Him this day those who are paralyzed in their faith, frozen in their fear. Who does God bring to your mind?
Mark was the first Gospel written. It has been called a Gospel of Action. Notice how many times the conjunction "and" is used: 1,331 times in this book. The use of this connective delivers further action. There is no other word in the English language that can deliver that kind of punch of action like the word "and." Watch for it: "they removed the roof AND let down the bed AND Jesus did this..." AND so, who does God bring to your mind to bring to Jesus today?
Mark was the first Gospel written. It has been called a Gospel of Action. Notice how many times the conjunction "and" is used: 1,331 times in this book. The use of this connective delivers further action. There is no other word in the English language that can deliver that kind of punch of action like the word "and." Watch for it: "they removed the roof AND let down the bed AND Jesus did this..." AND so, who does God bring to your mind to bring to Jesus today?
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Mark 1:28 "From Assembling Chairs to Assembling Cities" (February 19)
Mark 1: 28 "And at once His Fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee." The Time had come. The Kingdom is near to you this very day.
The Presence of a King. He has been in obscurity assembling chairs for most of his 33 years. In one december dawn, he addresses demons and assembles cities at his front door. Those who were sick or possessed by demons. What about those self-obsessed?
The Power of a King. The Kingdom of God is not in word but in power.
The Promise of a Kingdom within you and me. The Kingdom of God is righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. The Kingdom doesn't come with careful observation---the Kingdom is within you. Luke 17:21.
Come dependent as a little child to Possess the Kingdom of God.
The Presence of a King. He has been in obscurity assembling chairs for most of his 33 years. In one december dawn, he addresses demons and assembles cities at his front door. Those who were sick or possessed by demons. What about those self-obsessed?
The Power of a King. The Kingdom of God is not in word but in power.
The Promise of a Kingdom within you and me. The Kingdom of God is righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. The Kingdom doesn't come with careful observation---the Kingdom is within you. Luke 17:21.
Come dependent as a little child to Possess the Kingdom of God.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Mark 1:1 "An Epiphany, Then Theophany" (February 18)
A prophecy from the Book of Isaiah comes true. Isaiah 40:2-4 ~ Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and tell her that her sins are all paid for. She will receive from the LORD's Hand d.o.u.b.l.e. for all her sins. In your desert, prepare the way for your God. Your every valley will be raised up and your every mountain will be made low that the King of Glory will be revealed in you, through you. That's, An Epiphany, A Treasure of Grace. Here He is! A Messenger sent before your face. The Beginning of the Gospel of no end. Here He comes from Galilee to be baptized. Now, it's a Theophany! Hear the Heavens tear open when HE comes out of the baptismal waters of The Jordan. The Spirit descends on HIM, a docile dove. A Rest we know not. A Voice confirms from Heaven...'My Beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased."
Mark paints a portrait of our Suffering Savior.
Mark paints a portrait of our Suffering Savior.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Matthew 28:6 "Come In and Be Witnesses" (February 17)
It was the Dawn of a new Day.
Matthew 28:6 "He is not here, He has risen." Seven words and all of Christianity hangs in the balance. More than a Man. More than a Good Teacher. He is the Resurrection and the Life. And, He is not there in the tomb.
The women went to the tomb to find Him there. They carried spices with them---for His body. They didn't expect to find a resurrected body but a dead body. Even the eleven disciples didn't expect to find a Resurrection from the dead. When Jesus appeared to them in Galilee, some of the disciples still doubted. Living Proof and they can't quite wrap their minds around it. Wonder what I'm not wrapping my heart around this new dawn. For as sure as the sun rose this morning, the Morning Star is revealing Himself to you and to me if I just have eyes to see.
Matthew 28:13 - The chief priests paid off the soldiers with handsome money: "Tell people: His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep." The whole earth trembles and an Angel Messenger rolls back the stone not to let Jesus out but to let the witnesses come in. Every day He calls us to come in and be witnesses---to tell what we know in a world of power. (I Cor. 1:21).
And His Last Words before He ascended into the heavens (Matthew 28: 19-20): "Go therefore and make disciples, baptizing them, teaching them... And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." The I AM is with you and with me this new dawn of today.
Matthew 28:6 "He is not here, He has risen." Seven words and all of Christianity hangs in the balance. More than a Man. More than a Good Teacher. He is the Resurrection and the Life. And, He is not there in the tomb.
The women went to the tomb to find Him there. They carried spices with them---for His body. They didn't expect to find a resurrected body but a dead body. Even the eleven disciples didn't expect to find a Resurrection from the dead. When Jesus appeared to them in Galilee, some of the disciples still doubted. Living Proof and they can't quite wrap their minds around it. Wonder what I'm not wrapping my heart around this new dawn. For as sure as the sun rose this morning, the Morning Star is revealing Himself to you and to me if I just have eyes to see.
Matthew 28:13 - The chief priests paid off the soldiers with handsome money: "Tell people: His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep." The whole earth trembles and an Angel Messenger rolls back the stone not to let Jesus out but to let the witnesses come in. Every day He calls us to come in and be witnesses---to tell what we know in a world of power. (I Cor. 1:21).
And His Last Words before He ascended into the heavens (Matthew 28: 19-20): "Go therefore and make disciples, baptizing them, teaching them... And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." The I AM is with you and with me this new dawn of today.
Matthew 27:63 "I Will Rise" (February 16)
The earth Shook.
The rocks Split.
Sleeping Saints woke up in their tombs.
Truly, this was the Son of God.
Matthew 27:63 That impostor said, while He was Still alive, 'After 3 days I will rise.'
Rise is in the Present Tense. Always present.
So, Shroud the body.
Set a great Stone before the door of the new tomb.
Secure the tomb
Seal the Stone
Set a Guard
So the disciples don't Steal Him away.
How does a Pharisee Control the Power of God?
Stop the Sepulchre
Sitting at a distance:
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary
and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
What went through the mind of the Mother of the Sons of Zebedee as she watched her lifeless LORD be buried, and as she now waited for The Third Day. Maybe: How foolish I must have seemed to ask for greatness for my beloved sons? This Man is truly the Son of God. I wanted so much for my sons to "be" somebody of worth in the Kingdom. Do I want something more for them than the Love of My Christ Who just died for me? Love trumps all missives. He will rise. I Will Rise. One Day, sempiternal Forever. This Day, eternal in this Moment. I Will Rise again from my depression and doom, from my flesh and flailing. I will rise because He rose from the dead on The Third Day.
The rocks Split.
Sleeping Saints woke up in their tombs.
Truly, this was the Son of God.
Matthew 27:63 That impostor said, while He was Still alive, 'After 3 days I will rise.'
Rise is in the Present Tense. Always present.
So, Shroud the body.
Set a great Stone before the door of the new tomb.
Secure the tomb
Seal the Stone
Set a Guard
So the disciples don't Steal Him away.
How does a Pharisee Control the Power of God?
Stop the Sepulchre
Sitting at a distance:
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary
and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
What went through the mind of the Mother of the Sons of Zebedee as she watched her lifeless LORD be buried, and as she now waited for The Third Day. Maybe: How foolish I must have seemed to ask for greatness for my beloved sons? This Man is truly the Son of God. I wanted so much for my sons to "be" somebody of worth in the Kingdom. Do I want something more for them than the Love of My Christ Who just died for me? Love trumps all missives. He will rise. I Will Rise. One Day, sempiternal Forever. This Day, eternal in this Moment. I Will Rise again from my depression and doom, from my flesh and flailing. I will rise because He rose from the dead on The Third Day.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Matthew 27:46 "The Only Crucifixion We Remember" (February 15)
Condemned. Mocked. Stripped. Crowned with thorns. Spat On. Beaten. Crucified.
Matthew 27:35
In only six words, Prophecy fulfilled.
One of 30,000 crucifixions by Romans
The only One we remember.
Hung between nameless thieves.
Penalty for sin paid
Profound Act of History
Parsed in six words
Matthew 27:46
Total Darkness at the 6th hour
When the Zenith shines brightest
The Curtain is drawn
And, In the Ninth Hour
Jesus cried out:
"My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me."
And the Curtain is ripped from top to bottom.
Such few freighted words
to describe the Sacrifice of His Son
to set me free, set you free
The Darling of Heaven opened a way
for you & me to access our Father God.
An uncommon crucifixion.
This sacrificial death, for my place.
Why is this the only Crucifixion we ever remember?
Matthew 27:35
In only six words, Prophecy fulfilled.
One of 30,000 crucifixions by Romans
The only One we remember.
Hung between nameless thieves.
Penalty for sin paid
Profound Act of History
Parsed in six words
Matthew 27:46
Total Darkness at the 6th hour
When the Zenith shines brightest
The Curtain is drawn
And, In the Ninth Hour
Jesus cried out:
"My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me."
And the Curtain is ripped from top to bottom.
Such few freighted words
to describe the Sacrifice of His Son
to set me free, set you free
The Darling of Heaven opened a way
for you & me to access our Father God.
An uncommon crucifixion.
This sacrificial death, for my place.
Why is this the only Crucifixion we ever remember?
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Matthew 27:18 "Living Coram Deo" (February 14)
Matthew 27:18 “For He knew that for envy they had delivered Him.” Envious of the work of the Darling of Heaven so let's crucify Him.
Beaten . Ridiculed. Denied. It’s the Morning After. Jesus stands with the Chief Priests and elders in Matt 27:31 waiting to be delivered to Pilate.
Judas runs in to declare that he has sinned in that he betrayed Jesus. The Christ, Innocent Blood, is standing right there in Judas’ presence. Judas never turned to address the LORD and ask forgiveness. Judas only addressed the religious rulers. Do we ever do that? Go to people to admit our wrong but never live face-to-face with our LORD and Savior naming our sin. Living Coram Deo!
Judas was in the Presence of the One Who was about to die for all men’s sins, even Judas. The One Who would be his Savior, His Redeemer. The Only One Who could save Judas from himself. Judas casts down the mere 30 pieces of estranged silver, runs from the Presence of God and hangs himself. All Judas had to do was turn. Instead, he handled it by buying into the lie that suicide was his only way out. Suicide---a pinnacle of power that means I’ll make you pay for what You have done to me. Rather than bowing low, he bowed out. Jesus would not have condemned Judas.
I wonder why I miss talking to my LORD at times about my own sin? Do I think my sin is too great, too complicated, too much, too hideous to take to Jesus for forgiveness?
Beaten . Ridiculed. Denied. It’s the Morning After. Jesus stands with the Chief Priests and elders in Matt 27:31 waiting to be delivered to Pilate.
Judas runs in to declare that he has sinned in that he betrayed Jesus. The Christ, Innocent Blood, is standing right there in Judas’ presence. Judas never turned to address the LORD and ask forgiveness. Judas only addressed the religious rulers. Do we ever do that? Go to people to admit our wrong but never live face-to-face with our LORD and Savior naming our sin. Living Coram Deo!
Judas was in the Presence of the One Who was about to die for all men’s sins, even Judas. The One Who would be his Savior, His Redeemer. The Only One Who could save Judas from himself. Judas casts down the mere 30 pieces of estranged silver, runs from the Presence of God and hangs himself. All Judas had to do was turn. Instead, he handled it by buying into the lie that suicide was his only way out. Suicide---a pinnacle of power that means I’ll make you pay for what You have done to me. Rather than bowing low, he bowed out. Jesus would not have condemned Judas.
I wonder why I miss talking to my LORD at times about my own sin? Do I think my sin is too great, too complicated, too much, too hideous to take to Jesus for forgiveness?
Matthew 26: "Jesus Is Not My Friend" (February 13)
Peter cut off the ear of the Servant of the High Priest---an angry move---does Peter think he has to do something since Jesus didn't. What about me? Do I think Jesus needs my help sometimes? Jesus responds in Matthew 26:53 "Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send Me more than twelve legions of angels?" Do we think that God's Hands are tied in our troubles? HE cannot do anything about them? "But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?" They seized Jesus and brought Him to Caiphas and Peter followed at a distance. Can we follow Jesus at a distance? Do we live the mantra, "I do not know the man." There's a statue of Peter's Denial on the property of Caiphas' home in Jerusalem. The placard interprets Matthew 26:74 as saying that not only did Peter not know Jesus but the verse in the Greek can be translated: "He was not my friend." Peter, the betrayer. Denied knowing his friend three times - Matthew 26:75 - and Peter wept bitterly over his sin.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Matthew 26:31 "You Will All Fall Away" (February 12)
Matthew 26:29 The Blood of the Covenant, the forgiveness of sin, "I will drink this new with you in My Father's Kingdom." Let that sink in my soul...Jesus will drink this new with me and you. But before that Marriage Supper, I must live what vows I've taken here. And I read Matthew 26:31 "You will all fall away"...the disciples and me and you in all our vows. Peter says never. But in about 24 hours, something trumped Peter's holy living. What trumps holiness for me?
Joni Eareckson Tada writes about her present struggle with breast cancer:
"The physical body counts but it does not trump the health of my soul.
When people ask about healing, I'm less interested in the physical and
more interested in healing in my heart.
Pray that I get rid of my lazy attitude about God's Word and prayer,
of bruite pride---
Set me free from Self-Centeredness."
Joni Eareckson Tada writes about her present struggle with breast cancer:
"The physical body counts but it does not trump the health of my soul.
When people ask about healing, I'm less interested in the physical and
more interested in healing in my heart.
Pray that I get rid of my lazy attitude about God's Word and prayer,
of bruite pride---
Set me free from Self-Centeredness."
Friday, February 11, 2011
Matthew 26:10 "Extravagant Love" (February 11)
Matthew 26
Bookend stories...
On one Bookend: Chief Priests, Caaiaphas & Elders - PLOTTING to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him...
On the other Bookend: Judas of Iscariot, a Disciple - PLANNING to slip away and betray his Lord.
Caught In the Middle of her Story: Indignant Disciples over Mary of Bethany - POURING extravagance on her LORD, an expensive ointment that cost a year in wages.
Matthew 26:10 "She has done a beautiful thing to me."
Yesterday, Twinkle did a beautiful thing to me. All of you have one day or one moment or another given me beauty. I'll carry Twinkle's words, her story, her perfume forever because she carried me. Praying for each of you this day that you live extravagantly in your love for Him!
Bookend stories...
On one Bookend: Chief Priests, Caaiaphas & Elders - PLOTTING to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him...
On the other Bookend: Judas of Iscariot, a Disciple - PLANNING to slip away and betray his Lord.
Caught In the Middle of her Story: Indignant Disciples over Mary of Bethany - POURING extravagance on her LORD, an expensive ointment that cost a year in wages.
Matthew 26:10 "She has done a beautiful thing to me."
Yesterday, Twinkle did a beautiful thing to me. All of you have one day or one moment or another given me beauty. I'll carry Twinkle's words, her story, her perfume forever because she carried me. Praying for each of you this day that you live extravagantly in your love for Him!
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Matthew 25:40 "Infinite Condescending" (February 10)
Matthew 25:35 I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' The righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, When??? Matthew 25:40 - 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to Me.'
What righteous person comes to your mind when you think of the the ultimate, lowest, poorest in spirit, of all the brothers you know. Someone called it a place of "infinite condescending." Can you offer them grace to delight your friend, The King?
I saw a young adult this morning shoved out in a frigid world by mockers, picking fun of him. Not allowed back in to the warmth of their hearts, their clique, their conversation. I sat with my brother while he dissonanatly disassembled step-by-step a brilliant piece of equipment from an austinite named Dell. What a marvel he was! This marvel let go of his anger and moved on. Oh, for the passion to overlook position and visit the poor in spirit.
People want to be friends with the authors, the speakers, the wealthy. But what about the poor-in-spirit? Look around. The King is at hand.
What righteous person comes to your mind when you think of the the ultimate, lowest, poorest in spirit, of all the brothers you know. Someone called it a place of "infinite condescending." Can you offer them grace to delight your friend, The King?
I saw a young adult this morning shoved out in a frigid world by mockers, picking fun of him. Not allowed back in to the warmth of their hearts, their clique, their conversation. I sat with my brother while he dissonanatly disassembled step-by-step a brilliant piece of equipment from an austinite named Dell. What a marvel he was! This marvel let go of his anger and moved on. Oh, for the passion to overlook position and visit the poor in spirit.
People want to be friends with the authors, the speakers, the wealthy. But what about the poor-in-spirit? Look around. The King is at hand.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Matthew 25:21 "Intimately Involved with My Friend, The King "(February 9)
Matthew 25:21- "You have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your Master."
Matthew 25:25 - "So, I was afraid..." The servant did nothing with what he was entrusted. The Redeemer had given him just a little. The servant should have, at least, invested the one talent given to him by the One who owned him. Do I live afraid to take the risk with the investment of what God has given to me? The Parable of the Talents does not imply that by improving our talents, our abilities, our resources, we are then entitled to Divine Grace. We are all called to be servants of our Redeemer promoting ourselves---No!---promoting His Glory. There's a Grander Story here than just our story. We are constrained by the Love of Christ, controlled by His Love, to live no longer for ourselves. Am I willing to take a risk to invest in Eternity? These words come to mind again this week:
Matthew 25:25 - "So, I was afraid..." The servant did nothing with what he was entrusted. The Redeemer had given him just a little. The servant should have, at least, invested the one talent given to him by the One who owned him. Do I live afraid to take the risk with the investment of what God has given to me? The Parable of the Talents does not imply that by improving our talents, our abilities, our resources, we are then entitled to Divine Grace. We are all called to be servants of our Redeemer promoting ourselves---No!---promoting His Glory. There's a Grander Story here than just our story. We are constrained by the Love of Christ, controlled by His Love, to live no longer for ourselves. Am I willing to take a risk to invest in Eternity? These words come to mind again this week:
"Faith as I'm growing to understand it more, is about looking beyond my circumstances to a person. To have faith in better circumstances, even in God creating better circumstances, is not true faith. I want to be the kind of man who can watch every dream go down in flames and still yearn to be intimately involved in kingdom living, intimately involved with my Friend the King, and still be willing to take another risk just because it delights Him for me to do so. And my flesh shivers to think about it." Shattered Dreams
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Matthew 24:31 "My Ambition is A Quiet Life~MYOB" (February 8)
Matthew 24:30-31 "...The Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory ... and the angels with a loud trumpet call will gather his elect from the four winds ... will we be the south wind?
24:42 - Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.
24:46 - Blessed is that servant whom his Master will find giving food at the proper time when he comes. Not the one He finds beating up himself and his servant and his family.
I asked my husband a few minutes ago, "What makes us different than a Pharisee?" People all around me live to make good moral choices every day; live to focus on the positives not the negatives; live to conquer the darkness by pulling themselves up by the bootstraps; live to ease the pain with the joys of this life...the pharasaical parade goes on and on. What makes me different?
613 commands in the Old Testament: 248 were positive ones. 365 were negative commands---one for every day of the year. Impossible, we say, to keep them. Exactly. He is Holy and I am not. Will He find me with a consuming desire for holiness more than my desire to improve my situation? Will He find me doing I Thes 4:11? "Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands." Will I be awake giving food at the proper time, taking care of my own business, when He comes. LORD, would you show us this day what it means for each of us to lead a Quiet Life and not beat up on ourselves or others.
24:42 - Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.
24:46 - Blessed is that servant whom his Master will find giving food at the proper time when he comes. Not the one He finds beating up himself and his servant and his family.
I asked my husband a few minutes ago, "What makes us different than a Pharisee?" People all around me live to make good moral choices every day; live to focus on the positives not the negatives; live to conquer the darkness by pulling themselves up by the bootstraps; live to ease the pain with the joys of this life...the pharasaical parade goes on and on. What makes me different?
613 commands in the Old Testament: 248 were positive ones. 365 were negative commands---one for every day of the year. Impossible, we say, to keep them. Exactly. He is Holy and I am not. Will He find me with a consuming desire for holiness more than my desire to improve my situation? Will He find me doing I Thes 4:11? "Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands." Will I be awake giving food at the proper time, taking care of my own business, when He comes. LORD, would you show us this day what it means for each of us to lead a Quiet Life and not beat up on ourselves or others.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Matthew 24:3 "Cheap Grace" (February 7)
Matthew 24:3 "As He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately saying: Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming, and of the close of the age?" And Jesus answered them, "See that no one leads you astray." For one day we will all stand before Him in a holy place. Our adversary knows how to tempt us astray. One plan the adversary has for each of us is to make us satisfied in working as hard as we can at being good, moral Christians. Making the right choices. Someone called it: Cheap Grace at the expense of holiness. The Olivet Discourse calls us to costly grace.
"God means for us to obey His rules, we say, but if we don't
(and no one does),
He's really quite understanding. That's our view of grace.
It's what Dietrich Bonhoeffer calls cheap grace.
It develops when we talk about grace
before we tremble at God's holiness." Eugene Peterson
"God means for us to obey His rules, we say, but if we don't
(and no one does),
He's really quite understanding. That's our view of grace.
It's what Dietrich Bonhoeffer calls cheap grace.
It develops when we talk about grace
before we tremble at God's holiness." Eugene Peterson
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Matthew 23:1 "Seven Woes" (February 6)
Matthew 23 - Seven Woes spoken to arrogant, hypocritical Pharisees who want to be teachers recognized by men. Jesus was not addressing His disciples. He was addressing the Pharisees who sat on Moses Seat---men who were very sincere about their religion. Their very name means separated from sin. But faith isn't about how sincere we are in practice or belief. We can be sincerely wrong. There is only one way to God, through Jesus Christ. The difference between the Pharisees and the disciples was that the Truth changed the disciples but the Pharisees character remained the same. The disciples we know in Matthew all struggled with arrogance and hypocrisy even betrayal. Every one of those disciples died a martyr's death (except John the Beloved). They didn't die for a Good Teacher, they died for the Resurrected Christ. Did the Pharisees ever change? Do we find them in the pages of Acts? Jesus changed the disciples. And He is changing you and He is changing me. We will never be the same again that we were even yesterday. Changed Lives. Kingdom Building.
Jesus' mission is to change your life, to bring you into His Kingdom of Love
by forgiving your self-worshiping rebellion that keeps you falling short
of God's Way of relating and by empowering you to bring God's Kingdom
near to others by the radically changed way we can now relate. 66 LL
Jesus' mission is to change your life, to bring you into His Kingdom of Love
by forgiving your self-worshiping rebellion that keeps you falling short
of God's Way of relating and by empowering you to bring God's Kingdom
near to others by the radically changed way we can now relate. 66 LL
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Matthew 23:3 "Addicted" (February 5)
Matthew 23:3-13
Pharisees do not practice what they say.
They do all their deeds to be seen by others.
They make their phylacteries wide.
They love the place of honor at feasts
They love the best seats in the synagogues.
They love greetings in the marketplaces.
Woe to you.
You shut the Kingdom of heaven in people's face.
The Pharisees were addicted to religious rules and practices.
What about me? What am I addicted to?
What conviction rules within you?
If I live my life demanding satisfaction
I will become addicted to the experience of
Satisfaction
whether through food, sex, ministry, close relationships
worship times, meaningful work, or happy family life.
There is a Holy Desire in your depths that will expose
every other satisfaction as unworthy to be compared
with the satisfying joy of loving others with Divine Power.
66 LL
Pharisees do not practice what they say.
They do all their deeds to be seen by others.
They make their phylacteries wide.
They love the place of honor at feasts
They love the best seats in the synagogues.
They love greetings in the marketplaces.
Woe to you.
You shut the Kingdom of heaven in people's face.
The Pharisees were addicted to religious rules and practices.
What about me? What am I addicted to?
What conviction rules within you?
If I live my life demanding satisfaction
I will become addicted to the experience of
Satisfaction
whether through food, sex, ministry, close relationships
worship times, meaningful work, or happy family life.
There is a Holy Desire in your depths that will expose
every other satisfaction as unworthy to be compared
with the satisfying joy of loving others with Divine Power.
66 LL
Friday, February 4, 2011
Matthew 22: 37,38 "Selfishness Is Way Worse Than Woundedness" (February 4)
Matthew 22:34 Jesus silenced the Sadducees so now the Pharisees take him on. The Greek says the test question is delivered with malicious intent by one of their well-versed pharisaical lawyers. I wonder why theses men living by the letter of the law were so mean, in person, to the King of Kings? Matthew 22:37 is the greatest commandment: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind...You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Conjoined Commands is what they call it. Then, Jesus asks the Pharisees a grave question in 22:42: "What do you think about the Christ?..." And He silenced them all. And all these years later, He silences me and the question resonates in my heart: What do you really think about the Christ? Do you think He is a Good God? I'm stuck in believing that I need healing for all that is going on inside of me...and I need people who will treat me with respect and be a lot more kinder than they are. But God says to me this day Matt 22: 37-38. I need to love! I need His Forgiveness for my self-obsession and His Power to love those who have deeply offended me. And as it says somewhere in 66 Love Letters, if I start thinking that my woundedness is way more of a serious problem than my selfishness, I'm not thinking right of the Christ I so love. Forgive us LORD for what we think & how we act that is not of love. Please give us Resurrection Power (Phil 3:10) to love those who have hurt us---to take a risk today and be all about Kingdom Living and move out in love.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Matthew 22:14 "A Millennial Invitation" (February 3)
Matthew 22:2 It's a King throwing a Royal Wedding Party for his well-loved son. So few show up. The King's self-deprecating reminder is mysterious to me. Calls attention to Himself, the Grand King, who can't muster up a few guests for a splendid complimentary elegant matrimonial dinner. Nothing held back. Aristocratic True-Faith Parables. Mystery. Our Life. Too Busy. Not Hungry. Miss the Event-of-a-Lifetime.
Our King of Kings holds out a millennial wedding invite but we must dress up. The Marriage Supper of the Lamb. The King provides the wedding garments---kings always do. It is His Power that is so powerfully at work in you and me so that we do respond. Col 1:29 - Always either His Energy or mine at work. Will I put on a robe of righteousness? A robe of many colors. A robe bought with the throw of a dice. The Wedding Supper of the Lamb is ready. I'll be there, will you? It's the One Event you don't want to miss. Make sure you will be there. Matthew 22:14 "Many are called; few are chosen."
Our King of Kings holds out a millennial wedding invite but we must dress up. The Marriage Supper of the Lamb. The King provides the wedding garments---kings always do. It is His Power that is so powerfully at work in you and me so that we do respond. Col 1:29 - Always either His Energy or mine at work. Will I put on a robe of righteousness? A robe of many colors. A robe bought with the throw of a dice. The Wedding Supper of the Lamb is ready. I'll be there, will you? It's the One Event you don't want to miss. Make sure you will be there. Matthew 22:14 "Many are called; few are chosen."
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Matthew 21:31 "Slow Thaw" (February 2)
Matthew 21: 31-32 "The tax collectors and the prostitutes will go into the kingdom of God before the Pharisees. For John came in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe Him. The tax collectors and the prostitutes believed Jesus. But even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe Him." We always have this present moment to change our minds. But life is more than making good choices and changing our thinking. Even the Pharisees did that.
The Pharisees did not practice what they preached. What did they fear more than they feared Christ and His Love? They feared the crowds.
The Pharisees studied the Scriptures diligently because they thought that in them they had eternal life.What did they miss while studying the Word? They refused to come to Jesus to have life. John 5:39-40
"They were convinced that their wounds must be healed, their void must be filled before they could love." 66LL With that conviction ruling within, they lived life in the flesh and became addicted to the experience of:
SATISFACTION
FOOD
SEX
MINISTRY
CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS
WORSHIP TIMES
MEANINGFUL WORK
HAPPY FAMILY LIFE...
66 LL
What am I stuck in this blistery morn?
Come Closer, He says.
We are all a slow thaw.
The Pharisees did not practice what they preached. What did they fear more than they feared Christ and His Love? They feared the crowds.
The Pharisees studied the Scriptures diligently because they thought that in them they had eternal life.What did they miss while studying the Word? They refused to come to Jesus to have life. John 5:39-40
"They were convinced that their wounds must be healed, their void must be filled before they could love." 66LL With that conviction ruling within, they lived life in the flesh and became addicted to the experience of:
SATISFACTION
FOOD
SEX
MINISTRY
CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS
WORSHIP TIMES
MEANINGFUL WORK
HAPPY FAMILY LIFE...
66 LL
What am I stuck in this blistery morn?
Come Closer, He says.
We are all a slow thaw.
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