Seed Habit

“He presented another parable to them: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. ³² It’s the smallest of all the seeds, but when grown, it’s taller than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches.'” Matthew 13:31-32

Since I’m not much of a gardener I don’t have much experience with growing things from seeds. Even so, I do understand the concept and have grown a few things from seeds when I was a child and again when I had young children. What always amazes me about seeds is how tiny they are when they’re planted. It’s hard to imagine that a tiny little seed will soon become a beautiful flower.

Our spiritual lives are like seeds. We don’t start off being a beautiful spiritual flower. It takes time to cultivate our souls so we can gain nutrients and grow into who God intends us to be. Not too long ago I listened to a podcast episode with Hanna Seymour called, ‘Can I start Small Habits To Grow Big Faith?’ (https://www.jenniferrothschild.com/start-small-habits-grow-big-faith-hanna-seymour/). I loved what she had to say about building spiritual growth as a seed habit. How important it is to constantly practice building on spiritual habits of reading, studying and memorizing the Bible.

She told a story about Billy Graham who kept open bibles in almost every room of his house. This way he could walk into any room and stop to read for a few minutes from whatever page of the Bible was open. His grandson once asked, “Granddad, what could you possibly be getting from the Bible in that short amount of time?” Billy Graham answered, “I sip on the Word of God all day long.”

Hanna Seymour says that we need to sip on the Word of God. She goes on to say, “So if you have never cultivated a daily habit of opening your Bible — and I genuinely mean that, just opening your Bible — then maybe your seed habit is, if you’re a coffee drinker, you leave an open Bible next to your coffee machine. I recommend turning to that book of Philippians. It’s probably my favorite book to come back to. And when you press start on your coffee machine, start Philippians 1:1. Read a few verses. Go do, you know, whatever you normally do, come back, fill up your cup, maybe you read a few more verses. But that is the tiniest seed habit that we can start.”

She also talked about Biblical solitude. How it’s not just being alone with God but being alone in silence with God. I struggle with silence probably because part of my dyslexia makes it sometimes hard to shut my brain off. But mostly, I’ve never built a seed habit of being totally silent before the Lord. I do have a good habit of spending every morning with Him reading and praying but never just sitting in silence.

“Biblical solitude is being alone with God. Solitude is not just about being alone and being in silence. It’s about being aware of God’s presence, that he is with you. And a lot of times solitude is an umbrella habit, meaning we do other things. You know, I’ll say I have time of solitude in the morning. Well, usually I’ve got my Bible open and I’m probably praying in that pocket of solitude.”

The one thing she pointed out was to, “Make it small. Make it easy. Make it fit into your day!” In other words, fit these small spiritual disciplines into your daily routine. Hers was read a little from the Bible while waiting for her coffee to brew. Seed habits are habits that start with minimal time requirement and fit into your current season of life. In time, this habit will grow and produce a beautiful spiritual tree that is daily nourished by the Lord.

My new seed habit that I’m working on is being silent before the Lord. So far 1 minute is all I can do before my mind starts to wander.

What spiritual seed habits will you start this week? Remember, it should be small, easy and fit into your day.

Above the Heavens

“My heart is steadfast, O God! I will sing and make melody with all my being! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn! I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations. For your steadfast love is great above the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!” Psalm 108:1-5

I love it when the Lord brings life to His Word. This morning while I was waiting for my tea kettle to warm up I decided to run what little garbage we had left over in the kitchen out to the garbage can before the garbage truck came. As I was walking to the curb I looked up into clear dark sky and noticed all the beautiful stars. I eventually got my tea and settled into my comfortably chair in my office to start my day with the Lord. The first scripture passage I read was Psalm 108 which included the above verses about God’s steadfast love being so great it reaches above the heavens.

As I read this passage I was reminded about the beautiful stars I just saw. It also reminded me about the first and only time I saw the Milky Way Galaxy. As I lay on the ground looking up at it I began to feel very small compared to the vastness of the universe. And yet, here I read in this scripture passage that I am not so small that God’s love and faithfulness can’t reach me. His love is greater and higher than the heavens. His faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. His glory is over the whole earth!

The Third Day song, “Your Love Oh Lord”, came to mind:

“Your love, oh Lord
Reaches to the heavens
Your faithfulness stretches to the sky
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains
Your justice flows like the ocean’s tide
I will lift my voice
To worship You, my King
I will find my strength
In the shadow of your wings”

I immediately grabbed my iPods (I’m up so early that I didn’t want to wake the hubby) and listened to this song. It is a song I want to share with you so you can worship the Lord today. Take the time to thank Him for His steadfast love and faithfulness.

https://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=90BC21NU

God’s Grace is Enough

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.’ Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9

I took this picture on the way home from Spokane the day after the fires started. Halfway home we got stuck in a 2 hour delay waiting to go over the Columbia River. As we inched our way closer to the bridge I noticed this tree in the middle of the hill. I was struck by how green it was compared to the dried out land it resided upon and the smoke filled air around it. Despite its surroundings this tree was finding a way to survive its harsh environment. 

There have been times in my life where I haven’t fully understood and still struggle with understanding that God’s grace is enough for me. Many of these times are when I’m going through challenging seasons. Seasons where I’m not sure I can survive intact. Seasons that feel hopeless and exhausting. This morning, Nicky Gumbel, the author of my devotional, said something that stood out to me, “His [God’s] grace is not only amazing; it is ‘sufficient’. It is enough.”

‘It is enough’ . . . For some reason the word, ‘enough’, made more sense than the word, ‘sufficient’. They really mean the same thing. Sufficient is defined as: “having or providing as much as is needed: ENOUGH.” Enough is defined as, “equal to what is needed” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). God’s grace is enough for us. Yet, I know this is hard to grasp when we’re deeply struggling. How can God’s grace be enough or sufficient for us when He’s allowing us to continue to struggle?

Let’s take a look at the verses before our focus scripture passage to see how this is possible. Paul writes in verses 7b-8, “Therefore, so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to torment me so that I would not exalt myself. ⁸ Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times that it would leave me.”

Paul prayed three times for God to remove this ‘thorn in the flesh’ of his and God refused to do so. Have you ever felt like Paul begging the Lord to remove you from your challenging season? I know I’ve felt this way. I prayed countless times for the Lord to heal me of my first cancer so I wouldn’t have to go through treatment. I prayed this before each diagnostic test leading up to treatment praying that the scans or bloodwork would show that there would be no sign of cancer. A miracle healing!

Wouldn’t that have been amazing? But it isn’t what happened. Each prayer seemed to go unanswered in the way I wanted it to be answered. I didn’t want to go through the challenges of treatment. To fill my body with toxic medication that would strip me of my hair, strength and health. It truly felt like cancer was my own flesh thorn and it was apparent that God had chosen to leave it where it was. I wrestled with this throughout that challenging year. I grieved for my health, my hair, feeling sick and unable to care for my children the week after my infusions. I was often angry and resentful that it seemed as if God was choosing for me to experience things I didn’t want in my life.

Something interesting happened to me that year. God showed me who He was in an amazing way. He didn’t release me through a miracle healing but He showed up for me every day. He was with me in when I struggled with my darkest fears. He was with me in the infusion chair as the nurses hooked me up to toxins that would make me sick and forever change my body. He counted every lost hair on my head. In time I stopped fighting the path He wanted me on and accepted it as His plan. Once I released my control on what I wanted I experienced a supernatural peace that I’ve never experienced before.

His grace was enough for me.

His grace was enough for me when a different cancer flesh thorn returned 20 years later. I did pray for healing but I also knew that God doesn’t always heal in miraculous ways. Sometimes He heals through treatments I would rather avoid. As soon as I was told I had cancer I immediately felt that supernatural peace flow over me. I didn’t fight it or strive for that miracle healing. This doesn’t mean I didn’t cry and go through the grieving process. I wasn’t happy camper knowing I had to battle another cancer. But I knew God’s grace was enough for me the first time and would be enough for me the second time.  

My flesh thorn may be different than yours but the emotions these flesh thorns bring into our lives are similar. Nicky Gumbel pointed something out to me that I never thought of before. He said, “Dr Paula Gooder, who wrote her PhD thesis on these verses, says that there are at least thirty-six theories about what the thorn in Paul’s flesh could be. The fact that we do not know what it is enables us all to identify with Paul.“ I take comfort in knowing that God, through Paul’s experience, understands what I went through. Paul’s suffering and not being healed makes his words (which are really God’s Word) more impactful. I’m not sure my life would have been changed like it has been had I been miraculously healed. I don’t know if I would have developed a more intimate relationship with God had I been miraculously healed. I don’t know if I would rely upon God as much had I been miraculously healed. My cancers make me reliant on God in a way that I didn’t realize I needed.

I don’t need to strive and control my cancer flesh thorn because God’s grace is enough. This isn’t to say that I don’t struggle, feel fearful, angry and frustrated over it. I maintain my health and keep up with follow up tests and appointments to make sure there is still no evidence of disease. But I’m also realistic in knowing that the cancer very well may come back. That thought keeps me striving not for my own understanding or reliance or the wisdom of human understanding. Rather it keeps me striving for an eternal focus and hope in the future God has already planned for me.

Again, this isn’t easy especially when suffering is involved. It’s hard when life isn’t fair and you know your life may end before you desire it to end or be filled with challenges. But one thing I know and have experienced because of my flesh thorn is that God’s grace is always enough even if I can’t feel or see it in the moment. God’s grace is ever present. It is sufficient to meet our needs today and the river that flows from this grace will never run dry. It will meet us in our most vulnerable moment in ways that we can never imagine. When I researched this verse I came across a good summary from The Bible Hub, “Jesus told Paul—and tells us—that His grace already matches every need. Our weaknesses are not obstacles; they are openings for Christ’s perfected power.“

Jesus promises that His, “grace is sufficient for you.”

Smell of Sheep

“He chose David his servant and took him from the sheepfolds; ⁷¹ from following the nursing ewes he brought him to shepherd Jacob his people, Israel his inheritance. ⁷² With upright heart he shepherded them and guided them with his skillful hand.” Psalm 78:70-72

This morning something a quote by Pope Francis to the spiritual leaders of the church stood out to me during my devotional reading on the passage above. He said they were to ‘be shepherds living with the smell of the sheep’. What it means to be a shepherd living with the smell of sheep?

I think before we jump ahead to the scripture passage of my focus today we need to first look into the rest of Psalm 78. Palms 78 reminds us of the history of the Israelites. How God called for them to not repeat their past history of disobedience and following after other gods. It goes on to list several ways that they disobeyed and how God was merciful to them. It a nutshell, it is a spiritual lesson plan provided to future generations: how faith, forgetfulness and redemption plays out in all our lives.

We know that God chose David to be the shepherd over His people. But before he became King he was a shepherd boy who tended his father’s sheep. This first job of his was the perfect job for preparing him to be King. I did a little research into a shepherd boy’s job and discovered that it’s a job we can pull a lot of spiritual insights out of. All the shepherding information I got is from Ancient Hebrew Research Center.

According to this website, shepherding was the task of youngest boy in the family. It seems as if this was the less important role compared to all the other roles of earning an education and managing the land. Shepherding was a physically demanding job that involved long hours. Because the shepherd boy was required to live among the sheep he spent many hours in isolation. At the same time the shepherd boy learned to be responsible and gained knowledge in the care of livestock.

A shepherd had many tools to use to do his job well:

Garments: Shepherds worse a “simple tunic of cotton that is girded around his body by a leathern girdle, and his outer garment, called aba, is often of camel’s hair.” This outer garment kept him warm and could be used as a blanket.

Bag: A shepherd carried a bag which was made of dried skin. Within this bag he would carry his food. David placed his five smooth stones in his own bag when he prepared to battle Goliath.

Rod: The shepherd’s rod was used for protection as well as to count and inspect the sheep.

Staff: The shepherd’s staff was a stick that was about five to six feet long. It was often used like a walking stick as well as for handling and protecting the sheep.

Sling: The sling was used to defend against robbers and wild animals. It could also be used to throw stones alongside sheep to startle them when they were wandering off or going in the wrong direction. David used his sling to kill Goliath.

Flute: The shepherd’s flute was, “A dual-piped flute of reed is generally carried by the Arab shepherd. It is true that minor strains of music come from this flute, but the heart of the shepherd is stirred, and the sheep of the flock are refreshed by the invigorating music that comes from this simple instrument.”

A shepherd’s job was to care and provide for his sheep:

Food: During the springtime he would graze the sheep in the green pastures near his home. We know that harvesters were to leave whatever leftover grain lying around from their harvest to feed the poor. What I didn’t know is that after the poor gathered what they needed that the shepherds were allowed to bring their flocks in to feed off of whatever was left over. In the winter the shepherd was responsible for finding food by going out and cutting down green leaved branches or twigs. Another interesting fact is that if their flock was small they would stable them within their house.

Water: Since sheep are afraid of drinking water out of streams that move quickly, a shepherd would keep an eye out for pools of water. This would be a quiet place for anxious sheep to drink. When the water was dried up in the summer, the shepherd would use wells. This means that they’d have to spend time removing large rocks that covered the well before taking pail after pail of water out to water their sheep.

The Sheepfold: Sheep folds were a fenced in area with only one entrance that the shepherd could guard. They would often have to build temporary folds when they were far away from home. Folds built out of rude bowers and tangled thorn bushes.

This information was really good in helping remind me of my own sheep-ness and how to treat my fellow sheep.

We are all like sheep. No one is immune to being like a sheep who is prone to wander and in need of constant care. Jesus knew this about us and said in Matthew 9:36, “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

Jesus is our Good Shepherd and said:

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11).

“So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep” (John 10:7).

This last truth about Jesus our Good Shepherd is one I feel is important for my devotional thought today, “And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd” (John 10:16).

Jesus knows there are other sheep in this world who don’t know Him. He desires to bring them into His sheep fold so they can enjoy living under His care. This is why we should be sheep that draw other sheep to the Good Shepherd. In many ways we are also little shepherds who should take the time to live amongst the sheep living without a sheep fold. Sheep who are following after unworthy and untrustworthy shepherds who are leading them to false green pastures and towards waters that seem still on top but have a riptide current below.

In order to lead other sheep to the sheep fold of Jesus we can’t separate ourselves from the sheep that don’t smell or live like we do. We need to be the hands and feet of Jesus by showing them where the true still waters and green pastures can be found. We need to be a part of their lives and spend time with them to show them who Jesus is and eventually how to find spiritual food. 

In order to live amongst sheep that are different than us we must be spiritually prepared. We need to have the security of knowing God’s Word. It is His Word that we carry in our spiritual bag so we can take in spiritual nourishment on a daily basis. We use what we learn from God’s Word to gain spiritual tools to defend ourselves against Satan’s attacks. We worship the Lord to not only praise and thank Him but to refresh our soul.

We may be the only ones who can reach certain sheep. If we don’t spend time with them then how will they get to know who the Good Shepherd is? I think of Paul, whom God called to share the Gospel message of Jesus to the Gentiles (people who were not Jewish) and how Jewish leaders and people tried to prevent him from doing so in Acts 22. Paul was persecuted because he was witnessing to the Gentiles. What if Paul had not reached out to the Gentiles? Anyone who has isn’t of Jewish heritage wouldn’t have had the opportunity to learn about Jesus. Paul’s willingness to live amongst the lost sheep changed the course of history including my own history.

My prayer this week is that we wouldn’t forget how faith, forgetfulness and redemption has played a roll in our own lives. To take what we know and share these things with those who don’t know Jesus. I pray that we’ll love and care for others like Jesus does. To be willing to protect them from the wolves of this world. Let us widen our sheep fold!

Life Giving Thoughts

“We have thought on Your lovingkindness, O God, In the midst of Your temple.” Psalm 48:9

The Lord has been working on my thought life the past year. Teaching me to uproot untrue thoughts and replanting them with His Word. Today I focused on God’s love or His conditional covenant love for us.

Lovingkindness in this verse is translated to the Greek word hesed. The BibleHub helped me understand this word, “The Hebrew word ‘חֶסֶד’ (hesed) is often rendered in English as ‘loving devotion,’ ‘steadfast love,’ ‘mercy,’ or ‘kindness.’ In the Berean Standard Bible, ‘hesed’ is frequently translated as ‘loving devotion’ (for instance, Psalm 136:1, ‘Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good. His loving devotion endures forever.’). The term encompasses the ideas of enduring commitment, covenant loyalty, benevolence, and deep compassion. Rather than being limited to emotional kindness or favor, ‘hesed’ indicates a dependable, faithful, and often sacrificial love-one that persists despite circumstances. It implies the unwavering reliability and gracious action of the one who shows “hesed,” most prominently illustrated by God’s covenant faithfulness toward His people.”

I am often felt discouraged as I watch the world twist this idea of God’s love or even love between two people. That is why I was thankful for the reminder that God’s love for me is faithful, dependable, unwavering, steadfast, sacrificial and kind. The love of our majestic and almighty God will never change even if our circumstances change. It is a love that we can always come back to if we choose to wander far from Him. It is a love that is full of forgiveness when we ask for His forgiveness.

This verse tells us that God is in our mist in His temple. This was important in the Old Testament because it was the one place people could go to be in the presence of God. This was a substitute for the Garden of Eden where God was very much present with Adam and Eve. But sin broke that closeness and placed a divide between man and God. We see in Psalm 48 that God is creating something beautiful out of man’s rebellion. He is providing for the people to be near Him once again. It is where the people could find God.

I am thankful that we are in the history of redemption. Dane C. Ortlund explains it better than I could, “. . . the building of the temple, so represented God’s presence that they could vertically be called God. Consider where you and I are now in the redemptive history. God came to earth in the person of His Son, who called himself the temple (John 2:19-22) and who said that believing sinners are united to him and become part of this temple (Ephesians 2:19-22) . . . God does not simply dwell among you, in some special building. He dwells in you. He could not be closer. You are never alone” (Taken from ‘In The Lord I Take Refuge’ devotional page 135-136).

In many ways thoughts are like choosing life and death. When I choose to dwell in the midst of untruths I’m choosing to walk down a path that leads to negative thoughts (shame, guilt, fear, anxiety, sadness, unworthiness, anger . . . . . ). But if I choose to uproot those untruth weeds and replant them with the truth of God’s Word I am choosing to walk down the path that leads to life (joy, peace, grace, salvation, forgiveness, security . . . . ). It is a path that reminds me of who God is and how He has provided a way for me to experience every good thing that comes from having Jesus as my Lord and Savior. This doesn’t mean bad things don’t happen. Or that I don’t experience those negative thoughts. What it does mean is that I take action to build habits of changing those thoughts quickly by running to the feet of Jesus.

Moses told the Israelites the same thing before his death in Deuteronomy 30:11-30. He reminded them that His Word (commandments) are in the hearts of the people and they should be obeyed, “But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it” (verse 14). He encourages them to walk in the ways God calls them to walk and to love God, “If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it” (verse 16). He also warns them what happens if they choose to disobey Him, “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days” (verses 19-20).

Nicky Gumbel says of this, “This choice starts with your thoughts. Your thoughts become your words. Your words become your actions. Each day, choose life-giving thoughts.”

Today, we don’t have to go to church to feel God’s presence. I’m not suggesting that we stop going to church because corporate worship is vital to our spiritual health. But because of what Jesus did for us at the cross we can now feel His presence with us every moment of the day and night. All we do is have to cry out to Him and He’ll remind us that He is with us.

How are you going to choose life giving thoughts today?

Spiritual Sight

“And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, ⁴¹ ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ He said, ‘Lord, let me recover my sight.'” Luke 18:40-41

This morning I came across a story that I’ve read through many times. It is the story of the blind man named Bartimaues who was begging along the side of the road. The road happened to be the most traveled road through Jericho from Galilee to Jerusalem. It was this very road that Jesus and His disciples were traveling on. Bartimaues could hear the noise of the crowds following Jesus but without sight he had no idea what was going on, “And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. ³⁷ They told him, ‘Jesus of Nazareth is passing by” (verse 37).

What did Bartimaues do? He did the only thing he could – cry out. Even when he was told to be quiet he cried out even louder, “³⁸ And he cried out, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ ³⁹ And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!'” (verses 38-39).

I learned this morning that there is a difference in the accent Greek words that are used to describe the actions of Bartimaues in verses 38 and 39. These words show just how desperate Bartimaues was to get the attention of Jesus. ‘Cried out’ in verse 38 means, “An ordinary loud shout to attract attention.” ‘Cried out all the more’ in verse 39 means, “The instinctive cry of ungovernable emotion, a scream, an almost animal cry.” Bartimaues knew he needed mercy from the Son of God and he desperately wanted it.

What did Jesus do? “And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, ⁴¹ ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ He said, ‘Lord, let me recover my sight'” (Verses 40-41). Jesus had just told His disciples for the third time about His upcoming death, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. ³² For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. ³³ And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise” (Luke 18:31-33). In other words, Jesus was on a one way journey towards His death. Nothing could stop this journey. It had to take place at a specific time. And yet, one man caused Jesus to stop along the way.

Jesus not only stopped to talked to Bartimaues He also healed him, “And Jesus said to him, ‘Recover your sight; your faith has made you well'” (verse 42). Jesus knew this Bartimaues needed healing from his blindness but He still wanted Bartimaues to ask.

Jesus healed not only his physical sight but also his spiritual sight, “And immediately he recovered his sight” (verse 43a).

What did Bartimaues do? He, “followed him [Jesus], glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God” (verse 43b).

Takeaways:

Jesus wants us to cry out to Him.

Jesus is not too busy to stop and listen to our prayers.

After receiving spiritual sight we need to abide in Jesus and follow Him.

Sacred Pillars

“You shall not plant any tree as an Asherah beside the altar of the Lord your God that you shall make. ²² And you shall not set up a pillar, which the Lord your God hates.” Deuteronomy 16:21-22

Back in May I talked about the Burden of Idols. At the time I wrote this post (the middle of May) I had been mulling over this thought of burden of idols ever since the Easter Lunch at the White House. My husband tells me that I’m like a dog with a bone and will ruminate over something for a long time. This is true but it also means that I have something I need to work through and I can’t let it rest until I get to the bottom of it. The thing I’m ruminating on is idol worship. As soon as I pointed fingers at Paula White for her idol worship of our President, all my other fingers pointed back at me in the form of the passage above. I wrote in my notebook, “What sacred pillars have I set up beside the Lord God?”

This chapter in Deuteronomy talks about:

Celebrating the Passover (verses 1-2). Celebrating the Passover reminded the people of Israel how God was faithful in delivering them from slavery. We don’t observe the Passover but we can remember when Jesus saved us from the slavery of sin.

Offering sacrifices with sincerity (verses 5-6). We can give thanks to Jesus that we no longer have to offer animal sacrifices. But we can offer sacrifices of our gifts, time and money. We do this with a sincere and grateful heart. Acts of service that God sees from the act down to the reason for it.

To remember God’s blessings and goodness towards us (verses 9-12).

To remember those who are less fortunate (verse 11). This means to give and share with a joyful heart with those who are less fortunate than we are. We do this by remember how God has been generous in sharing His love and provision with us.

To have a heart of gratitude (verses 13-15). To remember how God provided for our needs as we wandered through our own wilderness.

To uphold justice and fairness (verse 18). We need to reflect God’s righteousness in all we do through upholding justice and fairness.

Other topics are the importance of corporate worship (verse 16), generosity (verse 17) and a call to obedience.

Now we get to one last thing talked about in this chapter – the warning against idol worship (verse 21).

In verses 21-22 we see that Moses warns the people about planting any tree or wooden image next to the alter of the Lord. The people of Israel were not suppose add any type of idol next to where they worshiped God. It is interesting that, “Groves were planted about idol temples for the purposes of the obscene worship performed in them (see Deuteronomy 12:3). On this account God would have no groves or thickets about his altar, that there might be no room for suspicion that any thing contrary to the strictest purity was transacted there” (Clarke).

Thinking about how people would plant groves around the idol temples to hide what was going on stood out to me. It reminded me that when I set up sacred pillars I do the same thing – hide them so no one can see them. But we can’t hide our idols from God.

I think it’s important to think about is what sacred pillars have we planted next to the Lord? If we aren’t careful we can plant so many sacred pillars to hide each compounding sin that eventually we’ll have a whole grove of them hiding the Lord from our sight. We start to only see our sin and forget that God rescued us from it. We forget God’s blessings and goodness. This tends to lead to self worship and gratification. We become less fair and needing to uphold justice. We become less generous towards others. We shy away from corporate worship and obedience.

This sin grove not only obscures our vision of the Lord but can also be a distraction from those outside of Christ to see Him. When we don’t reflect God’s goodness, maintain our spiritual health, obey His Word others are unable to see that we’re no different from the world.

What about you? What are some of your sacred pillars? I pray that you will grab a chainsaw along with me and cut each pillar down so that we can see the Lord with eyes and heart wide open. I know this isn’t easy and you might as well keep that chainsaw well maintained because we will be cutting our sacred pillars till the day we meet Jesus in eternity.

I know this can be discouraging but know that Jesus died on the cross so that we could be set free from the bondage of sin and death, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (John 3:16-18). Because of this we are able to ask for forgiveness of each sin as we cut them down one at a time. In doing so we remember that Jesus is gracious and forgiving, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:9).

Time to start cutting down those sacred pillars!

Refined Into His Image

“And we all, with unveiled face, continually seeing as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are progressively being transformed into His image from [one degree of] glory to [even more] glory, which comes from the Lord, [who is] the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18 (AMP)

Lately I’ve been thinking about reflecting Jesus. As you know from my posts this past election season has left me asking myself and the Lord hard questions. Questions that go against the social Chrisitan norms of what is expected of me as a Christ Follower. Should I follow them because that’s what has been done for many generations? Or should I dig deeper and figure out if these norms are really biblically based? How do I weigh this with my earthly identities? Identities that make up who we are because they were formed out of what we’ve experienced throughout our life time. How do these identities we are defined by fit into our identity in Christ? Living a biblically based life in a sinned filled world is becoming more complicated.

I came across the above verse in 2 Corinthians about being transformed into the image of Christ. To give context, Paul was writing this second book to the church in Corinth because it had been infiltrated by false teachers. Teachers who were teaching that Paul’s word could not be trusted and that he was stealing from them. How he identified in Christ was being challenged.

What was the city of Corinth? In Paul’s day it is estimated that the population consisted of 250,00 free persons and about 400,000 slaves. It was destroyed by Roman in 146 BC and rebuilt by Julius Caesar in 44 BC. During the rise of this city it became known as the third most important city of the Roman Empire. It was located on the isthmus of Greece and therefore a crosswords for traders and travelers. The people were influenced by Greek culture and philosophy placing a high importance on wisdom. It was filled with different kinds of religions and had many temples to the goddess of love, Aphrodite, the god of healing, Asclepius, and the temple of Apollo. The Jewish nation also had established a synagogue within the city. At the time of Paul’s first letter, Corinth was “the center for open and unbridled immorality” (bible study notes). We can understand why the church in Corinth struggled with immorality.

This city was filled with both freed and enslaved people. Many came to the city seeking a better life. We see from the above paragraph that Corinth was filled with prideful people who were into individualism, the worship of health and wealth and open to worshiping many religions. From this we can get a better understanding of why the people were struggling with Paul’s message of Jesus and the gospel.

Paul starts chapter 3 of 2 Corinthians by stating who he is and his credentials, “Are we starting to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some [false teachers], letters of recommendation to you or from you? [No!] You are our letter [of recommendation], written in our hearts, recognized and read by everyone” (verses 1-2). It was common for people in the early church to send letters of commendation to help guard against false prophets claiming to be sent by someone like Paul. Paul goes on to describe his letter of commendation by sending himself, as the ‘living letter’. The Enduring Word Commentary says about this, “The best analogy in today’s world might be a certificate of ordination. Many people think that a certificate of ordination means that you have the credentials of ministry. While there is an important purpose in a public ordination to ministry, a piece of paper in itself never is a proper credential. The true credentials of the ministry are changed lives, living epistles. We might almost say, keep your paper to yourself and show us the changed lives from your ministry.”

All of us have the opportunity to be transformed by Christ when He pulls the veil away at our conversion. What is this veil? Verses 12-16 tell us, “Since we have such a [glorious] hope and confident expectation, we speak with great courage, and we are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the Israelites would not gaze at the end of the glory which was fading away. But [in fact] their minds were hardened [for they had lost the ability to understand]; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed [only] in Christ. But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil [of blindness] lies over their heart; but whenever a person turns [in repentance and faith] to the Lord, the veil is taken away.” The new covenant through Jesus lifts the veil of the old covenant given through Moses. The Jews at this time struggled with not being able to, “see that the glory of Moses’ ministry faded in comparison to the ministry of Jesus” (Enduring Word Commentary). Verse 17 tells us a little bit about the new covenant, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty [emancipation from bondage, true freedom].”

I came across a devotional just recently that talked about how Godly discipline and suffering isn’t easy. This isn’t about that necessarily but it fits into what I’m learning about my identity in Christ. One way we are transformed into His image is through Godly discipline and suffering.

“A visitor was watching a silversmith heating the silver in his crucial. Hotter and hotter grew the fires. All the while the smith was closely scanning the crucible. Presently the visitor said: ‘Why do you watch the silver so closely? What are you looking for?’ ‘I am looking for my face,’ was the answer. ‘When I see my own image in the silver, then I stop. The work is done.’ Why did the silversmith light the fire under the silver? To purify and perfect it. . . . . The furnace, the suffering, the agony of child-training, what do they mean? God is looking for a face! It is the face of His Son. . . . He is purging from us all that dims that image. Like all true parents, God has a model, a pattern to which He is fashioning the lives of His children. That pattern is Jesus Christ. And God’s great purpose is that Christ should be ‘formed in us.'” – James McConkey.

I want to end by circling back to verse 18. When we lift the veil from our faces we will be able to see Jesus. Like Moses, our lives become transformed from the inside out as we spend time with Him. It is like the silversmith who looked intently into the melted silver to see his face. We spend time with the Lord so that our identity begins to reflect Him. No other identities are more important than the one in Christ. It is this one that will dictate to us how to navigate our earthly identities.

How will you reflect Christ this week?

Loving Jesus & Loving Others

“When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ He said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ ¹⁶ He said to him a second time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ He said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’ ¹⁷ He said to him the third time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ and he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep.'” John 21:15-17

This little interaction between Peter and Jesus is one that has really spoken to me during this year’s bible reading. Coming to the realization that I don’t often see Jesus as King also makes me realize that I fall short in my love for Him. And if I fall short in my love for Him then how does that make my love for others fall short?

I first want to set up the scene (John 21:1-12). Jesus has risen from the dead and has revealed Himself to His disciples several times. We see that Peter, Nathanael, the sons of Zebedee and two others were fishing in the Sea of Tiberias. They fished all night but didn’t catch anything (verses 2-3). Jesus appears on the shore and calls out to them asking if they have caught any fish. When they say they haven’t Jesus tells them to, “‘Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.’ So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish” (verse 6). The disciples recognize that it is Jesus who is talking to them and immediately head for shore. Peter is so excited that he literally jumps into the sea and swims to shore. Jesus has already prepared a breakfast for them but asks them to bring the fish they caught (verses 9-10). Jesus then says, “Come and have breakfast” (verse 12).

Jesus inviting them to have breakfast with Him is significant. The Bible Hub says of this, “The meal signifies fellowship and restoration, a common theme in Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances. Meals in Jewish culture were significant for community and reconciliation.” Jesus was bringing them into unity through community and reconciliation. This would be important for Peter who had denied Jesus three times before Jesus died on the cross. This is after Peter had previously told Jesus he loved Him more than any of the other disciples (Matthew 26:33).

Let’s look at the three loves that Jesus asks Peter.

Love #1 (verse 15): ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?’

What is Jesus asking Peter? Was He asking Peter to compare His love to those of his fellow disciples? His fishing job? Did Peter still feel proud of the love and devotion he had to Jesus as he did when he claimed to love him more than the other disciples? I think Jesus was helping Peter begin to evaluate what his priorities were and to whom he shared his affections. The word ‘love’ in this verse comes from the Greek word ‘agape’. Agape love is a selfish and sacrificial love.

Peter’s Answer: ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’

Peter answers by using the Greek word ‘phileo’ for love. This kind of love is more of a brotherly or friendship love. It’s a mutual affection between friends who share common values and experiences.

Jesus Commands: ‘Feed my lambs.’

Jesus now shares how Peter should love others. ‘Lambs’ are baby sheep which would represent new believers. Believers who are so young in the faith that they are vulnerable and need protection and care. Jesus is telling Peter that he has been restored and is trustworthy. He is also telling Peter that he is called into service through leadership.

Love #2 (verse 16): ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’

Jesus repeats his question with the same use of the Greek word ‘agape’ love (a selfish and sacrificial love). Jesus is making it clear that love for Him is the foundation for everything in the Church.

Peter’s Answer: ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’

Again Peter responds with the Greek word ‘phileo’ love (a brotherly or friendship love). Peter is letting Jesus know that He understands that Jesus knows the hearts of all people (John 2:24-25).

Jesus Commands: ‘Tend my sheep.’

Here Jesus is reinstating and now commissioning Peter to be a leader of the Church. Shepherds are those who care for sheep just like church leaders care for the member of their church. Jesus was calling Peter to protect, guide and care for believers.

Love #3 (verse 17): ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’

His question continues to focus on the selfish and sacrificial ‘agape’ love. This love is central to the Christian faith.

Peter’s Answer: ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’

Peter was grieved that Jesus was asking him this question a third time. The Bible Hub says that, “Peter’s hurt reflects his awareness of his past failures and the depth of his remorse. This moment is a test of Peter’s sincerity and commitment. The emotional response indicates the seriousness of the restoration process and the personal nature of discipleship. It also highlights the human aspect of Peter, making him relatable to believers who struggle with their own shortcomings.”

Jesus Commands: ‘Feed my sheep.’

This goes along with tending my sheep as it continues to imply that Peter will move into pastoral care as he teaches and guides believers to know Jesus as the Good Shepherd.

This passage has so many golden nuggets:

• It reminds us that God has a divine knowledge of our hearts.

• It talks about forgiveness and restoration. We know that our past failures doesn’t mean we can’t serve and love others.

• It reminds us that the foundation of all we do must be love.

• It reminds us of how we love others – tending to them like a shepherd: We care for the new and vulnerable believers. Some of us become shepherds in a pastoral and/or teaching positions as we teach (feed) God’s Word. Are we loving on people in a way that they feel protected, guided and cared for?

The truth is that we can only love others as much as we love the Lord. When we seek to imitate Jesus what comes out of us will be a love that grows for others. Jesus had a servant’s heart so that’s the kind of heart we need to have. Nicky Gumbel says of this, “It is a commitment to help people, whatever we feel about them, to grow in their love for Jesus, not seeking to control them but to liberate them. Jesus calls you to the same kind of love. Express your passionate love for Jesus by a passionate love for other people, giving yourself to take care of his sheep.”

How well are we being good sheep? Are we seeking to follow Jesus in a way that causes us to draw others into the sheepfold?

God Will Provide

“Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. ¹² And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, ‘Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.’ ¹³ So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.” John 6:11-13

Jesus feeding the five thousand plus people is a story that never ceases to amaze me. I won’t take a deep dive into the story except to give you the highlights: Once people started to realize that Jesus was healing people they started to follow Him. They followed He and His disciples up to a mountain and when it came time to eat there was no place to get food to feed such a large crowd. They didn’t have enough money to feed everyone. Feel free to read the full story HERE. 

There are so many takeaways from this story that I wanted to share with you this morning. 

Takeaway #1: God is the God of the impossible. “Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God'” (Mark 10:27).

Takeaway #2: Jesus already knew what He would do. “Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, ‘Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?’ ⁶ He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do” (versus 5 & 6).

Takeaway #3: When we give to the Lord out of what little we have He will always provide for our needs. “Philip answered him, ‘Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.’ ⁸ One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, ⁹ ‘There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?'” (verses 7-9). “Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. ¹² And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, ‘Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.’ ¹³ So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten” (verses 11-13).

Takeaway #4: Sometimes God places us in a position where we can only rely upon Him. 

I have shared this story many times am sharing it again because it fits exactly into my journaling thoughts about this story of Jesus feeding the five thousand.

“Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not keep them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty. “But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’ “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ “in tithes and offerings. . . . Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,’ says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” Malachi 3: 7, 8 & 10

The date of October 16, 2001 is marked next to these verses in my Bible with a note beside it saying, “Time for us to stop robbing God of His money. Take a leap in faith.”

The previous year was the year we had our youngest child, I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, went through 6 months of treatment and my husband got laid off of his job of 5 years. In 2001 we were trying to make ends meet on $900.00 a month from our unemployment checks. Everything had to come out of our unemployment checks including unforeseen expenses. It seemed impossible for $900.00 to meet all our needs.

One day during a sermon on tithing these verses were brought to our attention. We were never good at tithing and always made it the last check of the month to write out (I just dated myself when I mentioned checks). Our Pastor challenged us to tithe every month even if we didn’t have the money to do so. To take that leap of faith and see how God would take care of our needs. We decided to take up the challenge and start tithing off our unemployment checks.

Our needs were great and the unemployment check didn’t even cover our house payment let alone everything else. We did have many wonderful people help us along the way which really did keep us going and for which we’re so thankful for. But writing out the first check of the month to tithing before paying the bills was scary. It didn’t make sense on paper. Yet, God stretched our $900.00 so that we were able to pay every bill and stay afloat for 14 months. Twice we were blessed with $1,000 in cash in the mail that was the exact amount we needed. Who gave us $2,000 is still a mystery but God moved them to bless us with it.

You may think tithing is a way for the church to get your money and, yes, through tithing the staff is paid, the building is paid for and kept up and other ministries are supported. But in all reality, what we are given is from God and what He asks back is an act of obedience and a leap of faith. In doing so, He is showing us that He cares for us and does watch over ALL of our needs and we grow in ways we never expected.

To this day I can’t tell you how we ended up in a better financial position than before my husband lost his job. I have no clue how God worked it all out and I give Him all the glory for blessing us in so many ways. God cares for us and wants us to live the life He intended for us to live.

Our tithing testimony is proof that God is the God of the impossible. It is a story of taking a leap in faith and obedience that God will provide for our every need. It’s been 25 years since God placed us in a position where we had no other choice but to rely upon Him. The weight of wondering if God will continue to provide for us has been lifted. Sure, we have moments when we start to doubt but then we remember how God provided for us all those years ago. It brings about a heart of thanksgiving and an eagerness to see how God will continue to provide for our every need.

If you are struggling with doubt in God’s provision I pray that you will cling to the truths in our passage today. How impossible it would be to feed so many people with so little food. And how in the end, even the leftovers turned out to be more than enough.

“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19