What I Gained From the Sermon I Couldn't Translate

Last night, I attended a small Baptist church. Both the music and the sermon were in Arabic. I can understand a limited number of Arabic words - when they're presented with flip cards or spoken very slowly, one word at a time, with careful enunciation. Strung together in paragraphs with total abandon, those same words are impossible for me to follow. 

Except when it's not.

The pastor preached from John 10:1-27 with a few other passages thrown in for correlation.

The entire sermon could be summed up in one sentence: 

The lives of Christ-followers are defined by their intimate relationships 
with the One they follow. 

Jesus was clear about His role as Good Shepherd. He knows His sheep by name, they know Him AND they follow Him. 

He knows our names.

Ponder that for one long, beautiful moment.

He knows me, and He wants me to know Him, too.               

We are to know our Christ "even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father." (John 10:15) This is a profound truth and one that's often overlooked. 

How well does Jesus know the Father? Perfectly. Intimately. They are completely unified, and only complete by that unexplainable union of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Don't miss this...we're supposed to know our Lord that completely. 

How is this depth of knowing possible? We must do what Jesus did. He spent hours in conversation with God the Father, sometimes all night long. He did His will, even when it was hard. He pressed on with the job the Father had given Him, despite His own desire to avoid the terrible task. 

Jesus surrendered His will in order to accept the will and way of His Father. So must we, if we are to participate in the grand adventure of knowing that God intended.

Surrender to His will and His way

One of the hymns we sang when I was a child sums it up perfectly. "There is no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey." 

Are we "happy in Jesus"? Do we know Him with the same intimacy He knows the Father? 

If that's the life we want, it's available to us, IF we choose to do what Jesus did. 

Surrender. Pray. Obey.

There's a lesson in those three words that I'll save for another day. For today, let's take a close look at our own lives of faith. Is this the kind of God-relationship we want? Ask God what prevents this grand knowing, and allow Him to remove it, then stay close to the One who knows us by name. 

"I am the good shepherd; and I know My own, and My own know Me, even as the Father know Me and I know the Father..." John 10:14-15 nasb

______________

In case you missed the most recent post, here's the link: When Freedom Is What We Want, Repentance is What We Do 

If you feel led to partner with this ministry, here's the link to give your tax-deductible donations: Global Outreach Acct 4841 

You can also mail your check or money order to: Global Outreach/ PO Box 1, Tupelo MS 38802. Be sure to put Account 4841 in the "for" line.

Guest Blog: Is Jesus All I Need?

Jesus is...preeminent.

It sounds good, doesn’t it? But, do I fully comprehend it? And not only do I understand it, do I believe it so it influences how I live?

Imagine a small girl, hanging on to the hand of her Big Brother. When she believes her big bro is bigger and stronger and wiser than anyone else, she relaxes in his presence and isn’t afraid of what they may encounter as they walk together.

But, if she has any question about her Big Brother’s muscles, cunning or skill, she takes it upon herself to worry about their journey, what is around the corner, and any scary foes they may encounter.

The little girl’s belief does not alter what is true or minimize the fact that her Brother would likely lay down his life in defense of her.

But, her beliefs greatly affect what she thinks, does, says and believes as they walk together.

When I say Jesus is preeminent, meaning He is greater and higher than anything or anyone, how does my belief affect my walk with Him?

Can I relax knowing He always has my back?

Can I rejoice, appreciating that absolutely nothing we encounter will outwit or overpower Him?

Can I enjoy the journey understanding He knows the best way to get from here to there?

Can I anticipate with joy what is ahead, trusting He seeks my good and always keeps His promises?

Last term I told my students that faith and trust are “twins.” What or whom you believe in is what you trust. If you don’t trust someone or something you won’t have faith in them and vice versa. As your faith grows, so does your level of trust.

So, when I say Jesus is preeminent, do I trust what Colossians has to say about this quality of our Redeemer?

“For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” Colossians 1:16-17

“Him” in this verse refers to Jesus. “All” means just what you think, “everything, nothing excluded.” All things, everywhere, seen and unseen, great and small, were created through Jesus and for Jesus. This verse in a nutshell is preeminence.

This is unchanging, bank-your-life-on-it, stake-your-eternity-on-it truth. Truth is not altered or diminished whether you believe it or not. But, whether you embrace it or not dramatically affects your experience in this life and your future expectations. 

Preeminence is just one of Jesus’ many and amazing characteristics. What if you looked at each one - His grace, His goodness, His faithfulness, His mercy - and asked yourself, “When I fully believe this, how does my outlook change?”

The fact is, yes, the journey is important, but with Who you are walking is of greater importance. 

Can you and I have faith like a child; hang on to our Heavenly Big Brother’s hand, swinging it as we walk with Him? Can you relax in His presence knowing He is preeminent and so much more?

He is everything, absolutely everything you need Him to be. Believe it. Trust it. Live it.

----

By Guest Blogger Ruthie Howard. (You can follow the link to view her Global Outreach page.)
_____________

Please like and share to extend our digital reach...

In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: The High Maintenance Missionary and the Drooping Hedge

If you feel led to partner with this ministry (US, Jordan, the digital world), here's the link to give your tax-deductible donations: Global Outreach Acct 4841 

Or you can mail your check or money order to: Global Outreach/ PO Box 1, Tupelo MS 38802. Be sure to put Account 4841 in the "for" line.

#Jesus

Waiting for Jesus, part 8: Prayer of Abandon

And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone, came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped. And Jesus said, "Who is the one who touched Me?" And while they were all denying it, Peter said, "Master, the people are crowding and pressing in on You." (Luke 8:43-45 NASB)

Jairus fell at the feet of Jesus and begged Him to go with him to his house to see his dying daughter.  Jesus immediately responded by heading in that direction. It took faith for Jairus, the synagogue official, to fall at His feet in the presence of a crowd, and it took faith to ask Jesus to see his daughter and heal her. There was nothing at all wrong about his faith, nor about his asking. 

The woman with the hemorrhage also acted in faith. She, too, had a great need and she, too, took her need to Jesus. There is something about this quiet reaching for Him from behind that demonstrates a beautiful desperation. It is reminiscent of the woman with the alabaster vial who also worshipped "from behind" and was an act that said,  "I need the touch of God, whatever that may bring."  There is no doubt that she reached out to Jesus with the hope of healing, no doubt that she touched His fringe because of the symbolic authority and divine power it represented. It seems, though, that she simply brought her need to Jesus, without bringing a preconceived solution for Jesus to fulfill.  She wanted whatever resulted from touching the fringe of His garment. Her reaching out was, in its essence, the prayer that never fails. It was simply, "Thy will be done."

"Thy will be done" is an agonizingly difficult prayer for us. We are trained by our culture to place our order at the window and get that order fulfilled in a near-instant. In many ways, that behavior has made its way into our prayer life.  We have a tendency to place our "prayer order" with God and expect that order to be quickly filled. How incredibly arrogant is that? God must shake His head in wonder at our foolishness. 

How much better it would be if we simply  reached out to our Lord, offered Him our need, and submitted to His will!  We could be assured of having His perfect will every time, rather than our own. We could be certain of God's promises at work in our lives.

For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11 NASB)

There is a place for specific prayer. It helps us to see God's hand at work and easily recognize His answers to our prayers. Specific prayers are a vital part of our faith walk, but there must also be the prayers of utter abandon that say to God, "Your will, and not mine, be done."

Two people brought their needs to Jesus.   Jairus came with a great need and a specific solution in mind. The woman with the hemorrhage also came with a great need, but she left the manner of answering her prayer up to Jesus. Both prayers were answered that day, but only one was answered instantly. As the woman touched the fringe of His garment, the power of God flowed through her and healed her completely. 

Perhaps you, too, have a great need with a long-delayed solution. Isn't it time to take that need to Jesus with utter abandon? Ask Him to intervene in your situation in whatever way He sees best. No suggestions for God. No preconceived solutions. Ask for God's will. It's the only way to be sure you get His best.  

-------

Link to last night's post: http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/08/lessons-from-battlefield-law-versus.html

-------

Please pray for our precious brothers and sisters in Nigeria who are struggling because of the tyranny of Boko Haram and their persecution of Christians. Do not forget that they are allies of ISIS (Islamic State).