Month: October 2022

Ephesians 2:4-10 (MSG).  Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! Then he picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah.  7-10 Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.

Ephesians 2:4-10 (NASB) 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Observation

The day-to-day distractions of living and working can drift us into being self-focused, causing us to forget that we are the creation of His hands, made to do His work in the course of that day-to-day living and working.  I am grateful that salvation is a continuous process rooted in that immense grace and great love and will patiently and continually work in us while we live on this earth!  Knowing that gives us hope that, when we do fail, He is never surprised and has yet another dose of grace to help us do better the next time. Like a baby when it takes the first step and then falls down, He is excited that we took a step, then lifts us up and encourages us to take another. He tells us that we are created to fulfill His plan, His dreams, not the plans and dreams of our own making, and some of our failures arise from trying to hold Him to our expectations rather than listening to/following His instructions so that we can live up to His expectations. We the redeemed can forget in the distraction/busyness of living out our daily lives that we were saved/raised up/seated with Him in heavenly places simply because He loves us past reason and will continue to do so for all eternity regardless of our condition, our response, our faithfulness – “that He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

Impact on Me

I have been reflecting on grace lately – how precious is it to me?  Do I live by and treat others according to the grace I have received, a grace that flows from our God Who is “immense in mercy and with an incredible love”?  Do I allow the generous outpouring of grace to evoke joy and celebration every day regardless of the challenges or troubles I experience?  Do I expect/allow that grace to be sufficient to every need?  Do I treasure Jesus’ sacrifice (which made this grace available to me) or allow it to become common or taken for granted?  How do I respond moment-by-moment to that immensity/richness of mercy and “great love with which He loved us” which provided salvation (redemption/healing/restoration) when I could do nothing to deserve or earn it? Is Jesus really my only hope, my primary source, my all-in-all or do my plans, my experience, my training, my rights hold more sway in how I respond?  Do I really perceive/accept that saving grace is a gift only God can give and that He chose to give it to me?  “Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish!” 

Prayer

My God and Father, Savior, giver of grace, I want to be a fountain, a waterfall, of Your mercy, peace, reconciliation, restoration, and grace, grace, grace – so that others might come to know You because they experience Your love, mercy and grace through me. Lord, may I be no hindrance to You in flowing through me to embrace others with that same grace!  Let me never forget what great salvation has been given to me simply for the sake of Your love. In Jesus’ name, I pray.

Matthew 14:13b-21 (Phillips)Then the crowds heard of His departure and followed Him out of the towns on foot. When Jesus emerged from His retreat He saw a vast crowd and was very deeply moved and cured the sick among them. As evening fell His disciples came to Him and said, “We are right in the wilds here and it is very late. Send away these crowds now, so that they can go into the villages and buy themselves food.” ¹⁶ “There’s no need for them to go away,” returned Jesus. “You give them something to eat!”  ¹⁷ “But we haven’t anything here,” they told Him, “except five loaves and two fish.”  ¹⁸ To which Jesus replied, “Bring them here to me.”

^19-21 He told the crowd to sit down on the grass. Then He took the five loaves and the two fish in His hands, and, looking up to Heaven, He thanked God, broke the loaves and passed them to His disciples who handed them to the crowd. Everybody ate and was satisfied. Afterwards they collected twelve baskets full of the pieces which were left over. Those who ate numbered about five thousand men, apart from the women and children.

Observation

I’ve taught this story and its companions many times over my years in Children’s Ministry.  It is a very straightforward story of feeding a crowd with one loaf and 2/5ths of a fish per 1000 (not counting the women and children).  I have often wondered when the multiplication happened.  It could not have been when Jesus took them because He would have been buried under a great mound of bread and fish.  If it happened when Jesus handed them to the disciples, each disciple would have needed to carry enough bread and fish to feed at least 400 people.  I can imagine what the disciples were thinking as they approached their assigned part of the crowd with the little they had in their baskets.  In my opinion, that took a lot of faith!

So, the multiplication must have happened when they put their hand into the basket to walk among the crowd handing out the food.  Face it, in the beginning there was not enough to feed the crowd, but God made it stretch to fit the need.  Jesus sent His disciples out to grow their faith in God’s provision rather than relying on what they had to offer on their own.

Impact on Me

I remember this story whenever I feel inadequate to the need or my assigned task.  I am reminded that God is not relying on what I have but rather on what I will believe Him to do in and through me.  He certainly gives us all gifts and talents that He wants us to use to serve Him, and we should do that to the fullest extent.  However, when I get to the place where I think my strength, ability or talent carries the day alone, I am dangerously close to reaching in my basket to find it empty before the need is met.

I am deploying next week with a group of chaplains for hurricane relief.  The devastation extends beyond the physical.  It is emotionally draining for both those I will serve and me.  I am confident that the inadequacy I feel to meet the need must be like those disciples wading out into that huge crowd with only seven loaves and five fish.  I am trusting Jesus to work a miracle in the basket of comfort, care and hope that He is handing me to help meet the need of those He will bring my way. 

Prayer

Lord God, Redeemer, Miracle Worker, Way Maker, remind me of this story whenever I am tempted to say, “No, I can’t,” when I know that it is You asking.  I want my faith in You and Your provision to be stronger than my fear of failure.  May I embrace Your teaching and learn Your lessons well so that I may faithfully be what You’ve called me to be and do what You have called me to do.  I ask it all in the name of Jesus.  Make it so.

1 Peter 5:1-4 (Phillips) Now may I who am myself an elder say a word to you my fellow-elders? I speak as one who actually saw Christ suffer, and as one who will share with you the glories that are to be unfolded to us. I urge you then to see that your “flock of God” is properly fed and cared for. Accept the responsibility of looking after them willingly and not because you feel you can’t get out of it, doing your work not for what you can make, but because you are really concerned for their well-being. You should aim not at being “little tin gods” but as examples of Christian living in the eyes of the flock committed to receive that crown of glory which cannot fade.

Observation

About 15 years ago, I was the ministry leader for a team at my church that encouraged and supported ministries led by members of the congregation.  With some minor updates to make it more relevant to all, I wanted to share with you something I shared with my team.  So, this is written to a group that already has accepted Jesus as Savior and committed to serve Him.  If you have not yet accepted Jesus as your Savior, I encourage you to read the New Testament and learn who Jesus was and is and always will be.  Wherever you are and whatever your circumstance, Jesus has love, grace and forgiveness ready for you.  Call on His name and He will answer you.

1. God is committed to relationship-building. He wants everyone to have a relationship with Christ and with others in Christ.  Therefore, He has a plan for creating an environment for life that will father, foster, and fertilize spiritual growth and friendships with others – Christian and non-Christian.  God wants us to allow Jesus to shine through what we love to do and whatever else He asks us to do in Jesus’ name.  Our Father’s goal is to have others experience Christ in us so that they will choose to become part of the family of Christ where they can have the same peace, love and security that we have.
2. God wants every Believer to GO be His ambassador, evangelist, missionary in and to the world and culture in which they live. Some are called to go to places that are strange and unfamiliar to them, but, regardless, we all are called to carry the Gospel in our daily going and being.  Therefore, God is for us as we create opportunity and support for this to happen.  A question I ask myself is:  Am I making GOING a priority in my everyday life?  How am I encouraging and inspiring others to answer this call?  How am I equipping those who have a heart to go but feel ill-equipped?  How are they responding?
3. We operate from a position of advantage. We serve the Almighty God, Messiah, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  He is never surprised by the latest moves of the enemy.  He is never unprepared or taken aback by what happens.  God made His plan before Creation and has no Plan B.  Additionally, He feels no pressure or compunction to react or act according to any plan or timetable other than His own.  He is never concerned about what people will think about an individual battle that seems to us to be lost.  He will partner with us to accomplish His plan and fulfill His will and purpose (which to me is like working with a child learning to bake which takes 3 times as long and creates triple the mess).  BUT God will not necessarily bless any short-sighted plan we come up with on our own.  He has already won the war and will lead us into that victory if we will just follow in His footsteps.  It is worthwhile to invest whatever time it takes to hear from Him and be wise enough to embrace His our part in His plan for us.
4. We have been given superior weapons. The weapons He gives us are not the weapons the world sees as powerful but are the ones which exercise overwhelming spiritual power and authority.  These are weapons against which the enemy has no defense – love, grace, forgiveness, mercy, self-sacrifice, humility, the fruit of the Spirit and other virtues.                When I truly forgive, there is no foothold for bitterness.  I love Micah 6:8: Do justly, walk humbly, love mercy.  This is armor against the arrows of the enemy of our souls.  The enemy gains no victory if and when we respond according to the Word of God rather than react according to our flesh. While we are not to be ignorant of the enemy’s devices, we should be careful to learn how to use the weapons God has given.
5. God is not performance-based. We live in a culture that defines our worth by our achievements, our status, our possessions gained.  Heavenly culture puts no worth on these.  Will we be judged one day by Jesus for the works we performed in His name?  Absolutely!  James 2:18-24 tells us that our faith is dead without the good works it should produce.  However, showing up at the Heavenly Gates with the many lists of the good things we did in our own strength without consulting Him will not impress Him.  We will enter in simply because we are in Christ.  To hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” will depend on how well we listened and obeyed in whatever He asked us to do by faith.  If we can trust God enough to pray and wait to hear His plan, truly setting aside the urgency creating by our timetable and the need to appear pleasing or productive in the eyes of men, we will find that our joy will be full because we have endured to give Him joy in His heart.

Prayer

Lord God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, You are so gracious, so patient, so kind to include me in fulfilling the plan You set in motion before Creation.  What a mess I can make by anxiously going off in my own direction to fix the world around me.    My intentions are good, but my actions are foolish unless they are what You have asked me to do.  Slow me down, fill me with Your peace, let me see with Your eyes so I will have faith enough to wait for Your directions.    I want to be that good and faithful servant.  Make it so, in Jesus’ name.