a child of god
this is the way, run in it
Being perplexed - it's such a human condition.
It never ceases to amaze me how I come to a passage in the bible that I have read before and it comes to life before my eyes, and God the Holy Spirit shows me something new. I was finishing up reading through Luke yesterday, so I was in Luke 24, close to the end and in some ways on automatic pilot. Yes, I know what is in this chapter, it's such a relief to leave behind the pain and sorrow of the cross and hit resurrection day when Jesus rose from the grave to life again, walking with His disciples for one last period of time before going to heaven. But what amused me and caught my attention initially was how the women came on Sunday/Monday morning to have the grave opened and anoint Jesus' body for burial - there had not been enough time for that before the Sabbath rules kicked in - and what do they find? Not just the tomb already open, the stone, too heavy for one man to move, rolled away from the grave entrance, but Jesus' body is missing. It's not there. This is not what they had expected. And the Bible says, "they were perplexed about this" and were standing there not knowing what to think or do. God always does the unexpected. Isn't that wonderful? How boring life would be if we knew what to expect at every turn. How boring if we always got what we wanted without any effort, any testing or growth, any challenge. I give you permission to remind me that I said this the next time I'm complaining about a current challenge I am perplexed about - and yes, I can think of one right now. When God breaks in, life happens and the situation changes. And as if the open empty grave were not enough, two angels appear to the women who respond in terror and bow their faces to the ground, and the angels say to the women, "Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you...saying that these things must take place and on the third day (He would) rise again?" And those two ladies had an epiphany, a God light-bulb moment. Yes! They did remember that Jesus had said those things, and they could see with their own eyes the truth that His grave was empty, miraculously. When the women go to tell the disciples, they don't believe it. Another typical human response. But Peter, good old hasty impetuous Peter, he goes to look and see for himself, going away afterwards, marveling. Another gospel account says John went with him, and believed. In this chapter 24 of the gospel of Luke, we also have the recounting of the men walking to Emmaus, and the risen Jesus meets them, goes with them for a way, explains to them from the scriptures why it was necessary for the Messiah to go to the cross, and then reveals Himself to them as God the Son when they broke bread together. God reveals Himself - that must have been an amazing moment. We then see the two men doing the typical human thing - I knew it! Did you know it? I knew it when... Weren't our hearts burning when He ... When God breaks in, and reveals Himself, helps us understand, lifts our hearts and encourages us to keep on walking with Him, that is a precious moment and one worth recording and remembering. God sharing Himself with us in life, and Jesus, the Son of God, is the living One who has defeated sin and death for us, so that the grave is not the last of the story for those of us who believe in Him.
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Thinking about testimonies and truth today, and reflecting on a passage from Exodus 18 that was read at Staff Morning Prayers yesterday, at work. This passage from Exodus, specifically verses 1 - 12, really moved me as it involved family relationships, people from different nationalities and religions, and testimony about God's goodness and provision.
This involves Moses and his family. His father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, "heard about all that God had done for Moses and for Israel His people" and because of this report, Jethro gathered up his daughter, Zipporah, Moses' wife, and their two sons, and traveled to where Moses was. The bible says this, "Then Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was camped, at the mount of God" (v.5). Moses goes out and receives him well, Moses bows down to him and kisses him and gives him a family welcome, if you will. And I love this next part - they do what families do. They sit down and chew the cud together. They talk family news. Who was doing what and what happened there - all about "each other's welfare" the bible says, and then Moses gets down to testifying, telling Jethro all about all God had done for him and the people of Israel. That story must have been amazing! supernatural events and deliverances, the pillar of fire by night and the cloud of smoke by day - of God's presence with His people. And verse 9 says this, "And Jethro rejoiced over all the goodness which the Lord had done to Israel, in delivering them out of the hand of the Egyptians." Jethro, from another nation and another religion, still rejoiced over what God had done. He acknowledged it and he goes further by saying, "Now I know that the LORD is greater than all the gods". So this truth, this testimony that was proclaimed to Jethro by Moses helped him know, have the knowledge, the revelation, that the LORD God is greater than all other gods. That is big. And they worshipped together. There is power in proclaiming the truth about God. Who He is, what He is like, what He has done for us - those things ring out for others to hear. That kind of testimony is worth more than anything else because God uses it to bring revelation knowledge and eternal life to those who have ears to hear. And it gains in power and persuasiveness, I think, when we extend it with the hand of fellowship. The family welcome that Moses offered to his father-in-law and family paved the way for that testimony to have an impact. Relationships are important. Ours with God, and ours with each other. Seriously, it's not about the money. In Luke, chapter 12, Jesus takes up quite a bit of time teaching His disciples about how and why they should not be worrying about money. He tells them that God their Father knows their needs - what they need to physically live in this world, and the necessity of it. So this isn't an unrealistic portrait of life. But Jesus says that God will not only provide what is needed for the work we do with Him for His kingdom, but He will provide what we need to live on in this life as well (vv. 29-31).
This teaching is kicked off by a man asking him to make his brother divide the family inheritance with him. Ouch! Why do we worry about and argue so much about money? Jesus refuses to be drawn into this particular family problem, saying He isn't the appointed earthly judge for that (v.14), and then He goes on to warn His disciples, "Beware! Watch out! Be careful! and be on your guard against every form of greed" (v.15). So here Jesus is pointing out the heart problems with letting a love of money control one's heart/actions/words. He then says something very interesting. He says, "for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions." Even when one has an abundance, Jesus says, even then, that person's life does not consist/is not made up of/is not ranked as important by ... the things he owns. How often do we equate what we have with our own self-worth? I have to have the latest iPhone model, I must have those clothes, that make up, that car, that ... how often do we show off what we have and think that says something about us? It does! Only too loudly. We are not our stuff! We shouldn't want to be valued by our stuff. What does that say? Jesus goes on to tell them a parable, a teaching story, about a rich man who had a lot of stuff. So much stuff he needed to build bigger and better barns to store it all up for himself. All so he could enjoy himself in life, "there I will store all my grain and my goods. And then I will say to my soul, 'Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry' " (vv. 18-19). God says this is foolishness. In verse 20 God says this man is foolish, for he will die and he can't take it with him. "Who will own what you have prepared?" This reminds me of a saying we have "you can't take it with you." We used to see it as a bumper sticker in America, way back when. The problem with that saying is it is used to imply "so enjoy it now, don't worry about saving and storing it up. Spend it and enjoy it now" as an excuse for buying that sports car, the latest thing. That is not what God says. God says the foolish man is the one "who lays up treasure for himself (on this earth) and is not rich toward God" (v.21). Jesus goes on to say, don't be anxious for your life, what you will eat and what you will wear, "for life is more than food and the body is more than clothing" (v.23). He also says that "all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek" (v.30), so Jesus knows that people are like that. All of us are worried and concerned about living, about how to provide for ourselves and our families. But what he is saying is that we can't do much about it by worrying about it. We should trust God that he will provide, "for your Father knows you need these things" (v.30). "But seek first His kingdom, and all these things shall be added to you" (v.31). I love this verse. Not only does it say that God will provide all we need when it comes to doing kingdom work with Him, but, He will also add to that all we need to live this life in the here and now. God will provide. So what should our response be? To give, and give generously, to others, which is kingdom work with our Father, and that will store up treasure for us in heaven, "where no thief comes nor moth destroys" (v.33). And the most important part of this long passage on money - not that God will provide everything we need although that is very important - but God's concern about our heart attitude and motives - v. 34, "For where your treasure is, there will be your heart also." God Himself is our treasure! Our life with Him, doing life with Him, getting to know and love Him better, and loving others more and more like He does, that is our treasure. So, yes, it's not all about the money, even though that is necessary for the here and now which God knows; it's that we should be very careful to not let concerns about money control our hearts, and instead live the here and now for God and for seeing people enter into and grow in His family, in the kingdom of God, through Jesus, His Son! |
Franci Ballwatching and working for the kingdom of God in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham - UK Archives
January 2019
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