Have you ever been in a conversation with someone who just doesn't "get it"? I find this extremely frustrating. So did Jesus.
In Mark 8, a group of Pharisees (ie, really religious people) came up to Jesus and demanded He show them a sign- perform a miracle as a way of proving He was indeed from God. At first glance, this seems rather innocuous, until you note the three stories preceding this one. In them, Jesus has driven out a demon from long distance, healed a deaf/mute by using spittle, and fed 4,000 people with a few dinner roles. I don't know about you, but this seems like a pretty good run of ministry to me.
And yet, here are the high and mighty religious guys asking for a sign. "Um, excuse me," I'm thinking, "are you paying attention here? Have you seen what's going on? Why don't you get it?" Granted, the Pharisees probably hadn't been personally present at any of these miracles, but there was more than enough evidence for them to realize that Jesus was the real deal. But it wasn't good enough for them. Jesus had to do it their way, in their timing. With this as their mindset, the Pharisees missed Jesus altogether.
Sad. Even more sad when I think about how often this is MY experience. I want God to do things a certain way- show up at certain times, fix things a certain way, "prove" himself to me with a certain sign. Rarely, if ever, does God work this way. He is doing his own thing, and if I have the eyes to see it, His ways are far more wonderful and beautiful than my own.
Nowhere do we see the brilliance of God's plan more than in the Christmas story. If it were my way, I would not send a child to change the world. But God's way was to take on human form, become one of us, and proclaim through our humanity, "I am with you." His ways are not my ways, and thank goodness for that. Through Christ, His way continues to change and shape the world today.
"Our God is in the heavens, and He does as HE wishes." (Psalm 115:3) May your eyes be open in this Christmas season in such a way that you can trust this God. He is good, and his plans are good. Celebrate with great joy in Him.
Peace-
Nick
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Saturday, December 18, 2010
A Grammatical Mistake?
My devotional thought from tonight's candlelight service...
Nick
Saturday Night Devotional
So much of life is never finished- dishes, laundry, garage cleaning, tasks at work- on it goes and we wonder sometime why we bother. It will just need doing again later. At times, it’s more serious than that- we can feel that same about parenting our kids, working on our marriage, or even our faith- prayer, reading the Bible- sometimes we wonder what it will accomplish.
Luke 1:68- there’s something wrong with this verse. It reads, “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has visited and redeemed his people.”
The tense is wrong, isn’t it? We would expect it should read “and he WILL redeem His people.”
But instead it says, “redeemed”- past tense. Over and done.The NAS makes it stronger still- “accomplished redemption”- a finished work. In the Greek, it’s the aorist tense- which means a SINGLE action referred to typically in the past.
But Jesus is just a baby. In fact, Jesus is still in the womb of Mary at this point! How has redemption been accomplished?
The coming of the Messiah set in motion a whole new era of God’s Kingdom, and the final outcome of this plan is guaranteed. The old has gone, the new has come! The coming of Jesus represented more than the birth of a single person, but the in-breaking of all God’s promises that would forever change history. It was the beginning of the New Covenant that prophets had pointed to for a thousand years. Zechariah realized that when his son had been born, the whole plan had been set in motion. And because God was behind it, the new covenant era was unstoppable. God was going to finish what He had started.
We are living in that time! It is now! So what is our mindset? Do we still live in the attitude of “one day, he WILL redeem”. Is it just a future hope? NO- he has come and he HAS already redeemed. It’s certain. Live in this certainty! Live in simple trust that in EVERY area of your life, REDEMPTION has been accomplished. It’s done. Because Jesus has come.
Peace, and goodwill towards all, as you journey on...Nick
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Grumbling Causes Blindness
One of the simple truths in this life is that when we're busy looking at ourselves, we become blind to everyone else, including God. How unfortunate, because usually we are very boring while God is doing great things.
In Mark 6, Jesus does an amazing thing. He walks on water. He defies the laws of nature, which He created, and finds stability where everyone else sinks. As He is cruising past His friends in a boat, they see him and shriek in terror, believing it is a ghost. Jesus calms them with His voice and He climbs into the boat with them. As He does, a ferocious storm that had been raging around them suddenly calms to nothing.
Now here's the real kicker- this is what it says about the disciples reaction, "They were totally amazed for they still didn't understand the significance of the miracle of the loaves. Their hearts were too hard to take it in." So, Jesus was bringing down the power of heaven all around, and the disciples reaction was basically, "Huh?"
Which got me thinking- remember last week how I said the disciples were tired and worn out when Jesus performed the miraculous feeding of the 5,000? He took a few fish and a few rolls and fed everyone with 12 baskets of leftover food on the ground. If you put the disciples tired condition together with their hard hearts, it leads me to believe that when they were picking up the left-over bread, they were grumbling. They were complaining about the extra work they had to do. Jesus had just done something absolutely amazing, and it is entirely possible that all the disciples could see was the inconvenience it caused them.
So, grumbling can cause blindness. We can get so focused on our needs and what we don't have on a personal level that we miss incredible displays of God's power all around us.
I don't want that. My guess is, neither do you. So pray for a soft heart. And open eyes. Pray hard that when heaven opens and God's power falls, you won't miss it because you're focused only on yourself. Ah, a hard prayer, but a good one.
May you have eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts that understand what God is doing around you!
Peace-
Nick
In Mark 6, Jesus does an amazing thing. He walks on water. He defies the laws of nature, which He created, and finds stability where everyone else sinks. As He is cruising past His friends in a boat, they see him and shriek in terror, believing it is a ghost. Jesus calms them with His voice and He climbs into the boat with them. As He does, a ferocious storm that had been raging around them suddenly calms to nothing.
Now here's the real kicker- this is what it says about the disciples reaction, "They were totally amazed for they still didn't understand the significance of the miracle of the loaves. Their hearts were too hard to take it in." So, Jesus was bringing down the power of heaven all around, and the disciples reaction was basically, "Huh?"
Which got me thinking- remember last week how I said the disciples were tired and worn out when Jesus performed the miraculous feeding of the 5,000? He took a few fish and a few rolls and fed everyone with 12 baskets of leftover food on the ground. If you put the disciples tired condition together with their hard hearts, it leads me to believe that when they were picking up the left-over bread, they were grumbling. They were complaining about the extra work they had to do. Jesus had just done something absolutely amazing, and it is entirely possible that all the disciples could see was the inconvenience it caused them.
So, grumbling can cause blindness. We can get so focused on our needs and what we don't have on a personal level that we miss incredible displays of God's power all around us.
I don't want that. My guess is, neither do you. So pray for a soft heart. And open eyes. Pray hard that when heaven opens and God's power falls, you won't miss it because you're focused only on yourself. Ah, a hard prayer, but a good one.
May you have eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts that understand what God is doing around you!
Peace-
Nick
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
But I'm Tired, Lord...
Do you ever feel like God might be far less concerned with our comfort than we are?
In chapter 6 of Mark, Jesus' followers have been out on a serious butt-whooping tour; casting out demons and healing the sick. They come back to Jesus and tell them about everything they've done. And ministry goes on. They are so busy healing and helping that same day, they don't have time to even stop and eat. I'll bet a McD's would have come in handy.
Anyway, Jesus recognizes this and says, "Hey, let's get out of here and rest." The disciples must have thought, "Finally- he's thinking about our needs!" So they take off in a boat. Only there's a problem- someone sees them going and spreads the word. By the time Jesus and his weary helpers reach the shore, a whole crowd of people are waiting. If I'm one of the guys who just came back from a long foot-journey of ministry, I'm thinking, "Jesus, send them home!" But instead, Jesus has compassion on them. He starts teaching. And he teaches for a LONG time. Surely, the disciples had to have slipped in a nap here. But the teaching goes on so long that it's well past dinner time; and remember, they have already been too busy to eat.
Understandably, the disciples come to Jesus and complain, "It's late, there's no food here, send the people home." The words of Jesus must have sent their jaws to the ground, "YOU feed them." Us? HA! Jesus, we're tired. There's way too many people (over 5,000), and in case you didn't hear us, there's no food! You feed them. Honestly, I would have been ticked. I might have thrown in the towel right then. I do NOT do well when I am hungry! Or tired. Especially not both.
But Jesus is about to make magic. He sits the people down, takes one small sack lunch (a few fish and loaves) and simply looks up to heaven for blessing. Soon all 5,000+ people are chowing down with plenty to spare. While the disciples wanted Jesus to care about them and their personal well-being, Jesus seems more interested in growing their faith and showing them the power of God.
You know what? I'm not sure I like that. I think most of us would like a God that took care of us first and then did more ministry. But God continually calls us to something more, something higher. When this happens in my own life, I hope I'm not too tired or hungry to see it!
On your journey, may you know the kind of God who is MOST interested in growing your faith and showing you the power of heaven.
Peace-
Nick
In chapter 6 of Mark, Jesus' followers have been out on a serious butt-whooping tour; casting out demons and healing the sick. They come back to Jesus and tell them about everything they've done. And ministry goes on. They are so busy healing and helping that same day, they don't have time to even stop and eat. I'll bet a McD's would have come in handy.
Anyway, Jesus recognizes this and says, "Hey, let's get out of here and rest." The disciples must have thought, "Finally- he's thinking about our needs!" So they take off in a boat. Only there's a problem- someone sees them going and spreads the word. By the time Jesus and his weary helpers reach the shore, a whole crowd of people are waiting. If I'm one of the guys who just came back from a long foot-journey of ministry, I'm thinking, "Jesus, send them home!" But instead, Jesus has compassion on them. He starts teaching. And he teaches for a LONG time. Surely, the disciples had to have slipped in a nap here. But the teaching goes on so long that it's well past dinner time; and remember, they have already been too busy to eat.
Understandably, the disciples come to Jesus and complain, "It's late, there's no food here, send the people home." The words of Jesus must have sent their jaws to the ground, "YOU feed them." Us? HA! Jesus, we're tired. There's way too many people (over 5,000), and in case you didn't hear us, there's no food! You feed them. Honestly, I would have been ticked. I might have thrown in the towel right then. I do NOT do well when I am hungry! Or tired. Especially not both.
But Jesus is about to make magic. He sits the people down, takes one small sack lunch (a few fish and loaves) and simply looks up to heaven for blessing. Soon all 5,000+ people are chowing down with plenty to spare. While the disciples wanted Jesus to care about them and their personal well-being, Jesus seems more interested in growing their faith and showing them the power of God.
You know what? I'm not sure I like that. I think most of us would like a God that took care of us first and then did more ministry. But God continually calls us to something more, something higher. When this happens in my own life, I hope I'm not too tired or hungry to see it!
On your journey, may you know the kind of God who is MOST interested in growing your faith and showing you the power of heaven.
Peace-
Nick
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Looking in the Right Direction
I've been thinking this week about how important it is that we focus on the right things. We've been going through the book of Revelation at church, and one of the major themes of this book is that God wants to teach us how to see the world. We learn to see the world accurately by looking at him.
But getting people to look in the right direction can be challenging. Just look at this picture...In case you can't tell, I'm trying desperately to get Carter, my son, to look at the camera. I hope I will also be as desperate to encourage him to look at Jesus.
Peace on your journey-
Nick
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