Month: July 2023

1 John 1:1-4 ESV  That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

1 John 1:1-4 PHILLIPS  We are writing to you about something which has always existed yet which we ourselves actually saw and heard: something which we had an opportunity to observe closely and even to hold in our hands, and yet, as we know now, was something of the very Word of life himself! For it was life which appeared before us: we saw it, we are eye-witnesses of it, and are now writing to you about it. It was the very life of all ages, the life that has always existed with the Father, which actually became visible in person to us mortal men. We repeat, we really saw and heard what we are now writing to you about. We want you to be with us in this—in this fellowship with the Father, and Jesus Christ his Son. We must write and tell you about it, because the more that fellowship extends the greater the joy it brings to us who are already in it.

Observation

The Bible is a book full of characters and fantastic stories. The temptation is to treat those characters and stories as just another work of fiction.  Our faith wanes:

• when we allow its words to lose their power and anointing,
• when our relationship cools because we distance ourselves from its truth,
• when we allow what we can see/feel to become more real than the power of God available to us,
• when we forget that Jesus is not the figment of an author’s imagination but actually God made manifest in a human body.

The Bible is the actual history of God’s dealings with His creation, His people. The fantastic stories are God’s miraculous intervention into human circumstances, suspending the immutable laws of the universe/nature to demonstrate His power, His grace, His mercy, His intimate knowledge of our needs, His love for us. Jesus, God in the flesh, Redeemer, the very Word of Life, is the walking, breathing evidence of all of these and His commitment to live in and flow His power through us. What an experience it must have been to see Him, touch Him, hear Him! And, yet, then and today, there are those who are touched by His power and anointing but remained unmoved.

Impact on Me

I have imagined myself sitting in the crowd as Jesus taught – seeing Him standing before me, hearing His voice, experiencing His miracles. I wonder how I would have responded. Would I have been touched and changed or thought it was good teaching but not life-changing or, please God no, condemned it as heresy because it did not agree with my religious traditions, my concept of how God deals with people?  Those who actually sat before Him responded in these ways and, as a person of that time, would I have recognized the truth/life in His radical teaching?  He was literally turning religious tradition and practice upside down (or was it rightside up?). 

What about now?  Is Jesus real, present, personal in my life today or has He become merely a Bible character?  Do I have proper reverence and give proper weight to the name of Jesus when I speak it in testimony or prayer?  Do I examine myself and open my life to be touched and changed by the teachings I find challenging or radical, trusting in His power, His presence and His anointing to overcome my fears, failings, insufficiencies and shame?  I don’t know what I would have done then, but I do know how I want to respond now – with surrender and complete submission to His will and purpose for me.

Prayer

Lord, Word of Life, God Incarnate, Lover of my soul, search my heart, try me in all my ways, my thoughts, my motives.  I give You permission without reservation to mold, shape and change me to be useful for Your good and glory. May I live for and walk in Your truth, setting aside what I think is impossible to step into Your possible, setting aside tradition and reputation so You may be glorified. I pray that I will follow well, love well, serve well, journey well and finish well so that I will always give You joy in Your heart. May others come to know You because they meet You in me. Make it so, in the Name of Jesus I pray.

1 John 4:17 (ESV). By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.

1 John 4:17-21 (MSG) God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we’re free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s.

1 John 17-21 (Phillips) God is love, and the man whose life is lived in love does, in fact, live in God, and God does, in fact, live in him. So our love for Him grows more and more, filling us with complete confidence for the day when He shall judge all men—for we realise that our life in this world is actually His life lived in us.

Observation

I purposely read scriptures in more than one translation because it causes me to engage again with verses that have become so familiar that, for me, they have lost their salt, no longer impacting me with the depth of their grace, love, sacrifice and power.  This is so very human, like tiring of eating the same foods everyday. The food is no less nutritious for me (presuming it is healthy and balanced in the beginning) no matter how many times I eat it, but, just as the Hebrews in the wilderness became tired of the miraculously provided manna, our human nature wants variety, something new and different, regardless of the quality, utility and worth of what we already have.

Our Enemy understands our human nature and uses it against us both to cause discontent (always wanting something new) and complacency (loss of saltiness; devaluing the potential and power of what we have).  When any word of God becomes powerless and bland to us, we are missing it. Reading other translations helps me to see every verse from another perspective, finding flavors I have missed because I was gulping it down, hurrying over the familiar, rather than savoring each bite.

Impact on Me

So, above are 3 different translations of the same passages of Scripture.  I was blessed by all 3 but fully arrested by how the phrase “as he is so also are we in this world” from the ESV was translated into more modern common talk by Reverend Peterson – “our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s” – and Reverend Phillips – “for we realise that our life in this world is actually his life lived in us”.  The content of this “dish” has not changed, but my appreciation of its presentation and flavors has!  Of course, I know that I am in Christ and He is in me, but hearing it stated in different terms, from different perspectives, creating a different picture, makes it all the more real to me.

When God “looks down” on the earth and sees me, He no longer sees Liz the merely human creation but rather sees Liz in Christ and Christ in Liz.  I have the same welcome into His presence that Jesus does.  I have the same life flowing in me that energized Jesus’ life, ministry and resurrection.  This is a truly arresting thought!  What am I doing with all of this privilege, all this life?  Am I praying like I have this life in me, believing and expecting God to hear and the Holy Ghost to move, or am I praying only hoping against hope that He will?  These verses are telling me that, like David, I need to run toward my giants, knowing that God is with me, for me and empowering me to overcome them.

Prayer

Lord God of Hosts, Savior, Teacher, One Who gives me courage, strength and the wisdom to hear You and obey, I ask You to wake me up, shake me to my core, fill me up with the confidence that what You say You will do in and through me.  I want that boldness of David running toward Goliath with only a sling and 5 smooth stones because he knew You were going to fight the battle if he would only obey.  I ask it all in the name of Jesus.  Amen.

Psalm 23:1, 6 NIV  The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing…Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23:6 NLT  Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.

“Goodness Of God” (Bethel Music)                                                                                     
Songwriters: Jason Ingram, Ed Cash, Brian Mark Johnson, Jenn Louise Johnson, Ben David Fielding

Observation

I suspect that King David spent many hours, days, years wondering and even questioning God’s methods of working out His plans and purposes (“What was God thinking when He…?!!”).  David was a teenage shepherd when he was anointed as king by the prophet Samuel.  Although he may not have understood what it all meant, that day was when God began David’s training – facing Goliath, being banished and hunted by Saul, hiding in the desert, living on the run, being forced out of his country, and fighting many, many battles. It was nearly 15 years between the time that he was anointed and his actual taking of the throne. God prepared David to be a man after God’s own heart by taking David “through the fire” so that, no matter what triumph or dark night he faced, he could sing of the goodness of God.  He could have written this one.  It is like so many other of his psalms.

I have always thought of the “follow” in Psalm 23:6 as a gentle, passive, strolling behind. I don’t know how or why I got that picture in my mind. Perhaps it was pictures of shepherds peacefully strolling along with sheep. I looked up the Hebrew word used for this “follow” in Strong’s Concordance; it is “radaph” and means “to pursue ardently, chase, aim eagerly to secure, pursue”. It is used sometimes in the Old Testament to describe the relentless pursuit by enemies and other times to describe how men should pursue God and holiness.  Just as David defended his sheep against lions and bears, Jesus defends us against all fearful attacks when we embrace His shepherding, let His goodness overtake us and “aim eagerly to secure” holiness.

Impact on Me

This creates an entirely different perspective for me on Psalm 23!  This is not just a psalm/song about the tranquil pasture and peace we can experience in Christ; it is also a psalm/song about the passionate advocacy and protection provided by our Shepherd both in that tranquil pasture and in fearful times of attack, danger, fire, trouble and uncertainty.  I am reminded of Jesus asleep in the wildly rocking boat! We need to stay calm in every circumstance because Jesus is with us in them all.

I have a new picture of my Good Shepherd chasing off the bears and lions that come to attack my body, soul and spirit in my darkest nights, those valleys filled with fear, doubt or death in the shadows, those threats against those I love.  I know His goodness and pray that my grandchildren and great grandchildren will know it too through being overtaken in their lives by His goodness.  My song shall ever be: “With my life laid down, I’m surrendered now; I give You everything.  Your goodness is running after, it’s running after me.  All my life You have been faithful and all my life You have been so, so good. With every breath that I am able, I will sing of the goodness of God.”

Prayer

Lord, You are creator of all, in all and over all. You know all that is and will ever be. Knowing me as I do, I don’t really understand why You have taken me on, kept me as Your own, and embraced me in Your flock, but I rejoice in the fact You have and are faithful both to pursue me when I wander and watch over me when I rest in secure pasture. Help me to follow after You, surrendered to Your path and confident of Your presence and protection along the way. When my way seems insecure, help me to look to You rather than focus on the shadowy dangers in the current valley.  I pray my life will fulfill Your will and purpose for me. In Jesus’ name. Make it so

Ephesians 3:7-21 MSG  This is my life work: helping people understand and respond to this Message. It came as a sheer gift to me, a real surprise, God handling all the details. When it came to presenting the Message to people who had no background in God’s way, I was the least qualified of any of the available Christians. God saw to it that I was equipped, but you can be sure that it had nothing to do with my natural abilities.  And so here I am, preaching and writing about things that are way over my head, the inexhaustible riches and generosity of Christ. My task is to bring out in the open and make plain what God, who created all this in the first place, has been doing in secret and behind the scenes all along. Through followers of Jesus like yourselves gathered in churches, this extraordinary plan of God is becoming known and talked about even among the angels! All this is proceeding along lines planned all along by God and then executed in Christ Jesus. When we trust in him, we’re free to say whatever needs to be said, bold to go wherever we need to go. So don’t let my present trouble on your behalf get you down. Be proud! My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God. God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us. Glory to God in the church! Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus! Glory down all the generations! Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes!

Observation

Paul wrote this from prison where his freedom was restricted; he was on lockdown whether in house arrest or an actual jail cell.  I am always amazed at his response to every “negative” circumstance – “All this is proceeding along lines planned all along by God and then executed in Christ Jesus.”  Over and over in his writings, he expresses such humility about his part in this plan of God, whether seen or unseen – important but not indispensable, an oiler that keeps the various parts lubricated and working at their best, a coach who hones the abilities of the team to bring out the best in each one. He was not looking for credit/recognition for himself but always expressing his deep and abiding gratitude to be a servant/slave for the Lord.

He was fully soaked in “Love God, Love Others”. He encouraged others to invite Jesus in and embrace first the knowledge/understanding that “with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love”. He knew that love is the answer, not only will it sustain and strengthen us, but also is the ultimate weapon to defeat all of the Enemy’s schemes, all of his deceptions. It was the Love that sent Jesus to the Cross, the Love which accomplished God’s plan to provide redemption for whosoever will come, and the Love, living in us, that consistently shares Jesus as the answer to everyone we meet.

Impact on Me

“Preach the Gospel. When necessary, use words.”  If Love is the basis of all I do and say and think, the Holy Spirit will flow through my prayer, acts of kindness, hospitality, listening, compassion/care, and every other tangible and intangible act I do.  I want to get to the place in my understanding and embrace of the “extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love” that I see where I am and what I am experiencing at any given moment as an opportunity – like Paul – to be used by God to accomplish His will and purpose. I want to live in Christ above rather than under the circumstances. 

“Live full lives, full in the fullness of God. God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.”  I believe this will require soaking in that Love until it dissolves fear, doubt, selfishness, unforgiveness, and every other bit of pride in me. That will be a mighty long soak but so worth it!  So, I set myself to more time in the Word, more contemplation, more prayer, more listening, more repentance, more submitting to examination by the Holy Spirit, more obedience, more journey toward a humble and contrite heart and anything else required by God.

Prayer

Lord, You are Love. As we embrace Love, we are embracing You. Work in me, in us, to bring us to the understanding that we lose nothing by submitting all to You. Freely and fully submitting to You is all gain – the wholeness of shalom – peace, joy, righteousness, eternity with You. May I see my current circumstances as part of Your plan and seek to serve You faithfully in each one. Go to the root of my self-interest and expose it for what it is – a stronghold separating me from “the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love” – from plunging into the ocean of Your Love.  May I be so saturated, even dripping with Your Love, that others will come to know You because You are evident in my every act, every word, and even every thought or silent prayer.  I ask You to make it so, in Jesus’ name.