Following The Rabbit Trail to God's Glory

When I visited Jerusalem a few years ago, the main thing I wanted to do was go to the Western Wall ("wailing wall") to pray. There were more people there than I'd expected, congregated inside the make-shift walls, praying. People had written prayers on scraps of paper to stick inside the cracks between the stones because it's the back wall of the Holy of Holies. 

I had my prayer written and ready, too, as if sticking it in between giant stones would somehow gain a greater effect than speaking directly to my Heavenly Father.

The Ark of the Covenant, with the Mercy Seat on top, was housed in the Holy of Holies. The Glory of the Lord rested on the Mercy Seat. 

When people go to pray at the wall, in a way, they're seeking to get as close to the glory of God as possible on this earth. (I'm not saying that's what they find, but what they seek.) 

This morning, there's an issue about which I need wisdom. "I need to seek God's face on this," I thought. 

In one of those very circuitous thought processes that some people call "rabbit trails," I thought of Moses speaking face to face with God, which made me think of the time he couldn't get in the tabernacle because of the glory of God, which made me think of the Holy of Holies... the Western Wall... you get the idea.

The verse from Colossians came to mind. "Christ in you, the hope of glory." (Colossians 1:27) I was reminded again that God's glory was made evident in Jesus Christ. 

If we want to experience His glory, we don't have to lean against an ancient wall or stick paper in its cracks. We need look no further than His Son.

In eternity, God's glory provides the light for heaven. That "light of the world" that's supposed to shine forth from us as believers is a little glimpse of the glory of God. When we allow God's grace to shine forth from us, we experience His glory and those on whom we shine His light do, too.

The rabbit trail I've been following this morning leads me right back to the problem with which I began... the need for wisdom, but I've encountered a bit of my answer along the way. If I want wisdom, and I do, I need to begin by looking to Christ, where I'll find both wisdom and the glory of God. 

If we need wisdom, let's be still long enough to hear from the One who spoke the world into existence. He still holds the stars in their constellations and keeps the planets spinning around the sun. He can handle whatever problem we encounter, and He has all the wisdom we need.

"Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10 

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In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: The Fish That Did What Mere Words Could Not
This ministry of prayer and outreach (digital and in-person) is only possible because of the generosity of your support. Together, we're making progress, but help is still needed. (I don't get a salary until this ministry is funded) If God has called you to help, 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

The Fish That Did What Mere Words Could Not

A crowd of people gathered around Jesus. As they moved in to hear better, they pressed Him ever closer to the shoreline, right up to the edge of the surf. Some fishermen were there, cleaning their nets, so one of them (Simon) moved his boat back into the water to let Jesus teach the crowds. 

The fishermen stayed on the shore while He taught. There's no doubt they heard what He said, but His words didn't seize them with amazement. 

After the sermon, though, Jesus did something that rocked their world. 

"Go to the deep water and put out your nets."

Simon disagreed. "We fished all night and caught nothing. That's a waste of effort, but, if you insist..."

In the deep water, they threw out the nets and caught more fish than they thought possible. 

It was the fish that moved them. Not words. Not even the words of Jesus.  

For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken; (Luke 5:9 NASB)

When words and the miraculous merged, they understood. The Word became flesh and they beheld the Father through the Son in an utterly new way. 

It changed their lives forever.

Some hearts are moved by a powerful sermon. Some hearts are moved by a friend gently sharing truth over the years.

Some hearts, however, need to see tangible evidence of Christ, whether it's a wet, stinky net-full of fish or the powerful evidence of a changed life. 

What evidence of the reality of Christ do others see in us? What evidence of the miraculous?

Today, let's pray that those around us will recognize the miraculous work of God in our lives and that it will move the to utter, life-altering amazement at the power and sovereignty of God.

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In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: Real Love: More than a Feeling

This ministry of prayer and outreach (digital and in-person) is only possible because of the generosity of your support. If you'd like to help, 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

Real Love: More Than A Feeling

💕❤️💕❤️💕❤️💕❤️💕❤️💕

It should have gone into my spam box, but it didn't. "Love is the most wonderful feeling in the world," the email from an online card company proclaimed. Of course, love is a feeling, but it's not worth much if that's all it is. 

Unfortunately, a brief review of online dictionaries prove that the world's view of love is sadly skewed toward a physical/sexual interpretation. Certainly, that's one kind of love, but the definitions I read were lacking in the intensity and commitment of real love. 

The apostle John took it much further than a momentary, physical pleasure.

"This is real love - not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins." 1 John 4:10 nlt

"Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13 niv

In one horrible act of surrender, Jesus showed us what real love looks like when He laid down His life as a sacrifice for us. That's the standard against which all claims of love should be measured.

Willing, sacrificial love for people who don't love at all is what Jesus gave.

I wouldn't have done it. I'd have let us make our choice and go straight to hell.

But God...

I say I love the world, but God really does. He loves us enough to prove it with His sacrifice.

The most important demonstration of love wasn't done with cards, candy, or flowers. It was done with the blood and nails of the cross. 

Whether we receive a tangible symbol of ardor today, or not, we can take hope that the only demonstration of love we'll ever need has already been given. 

We learned the song as children. "Jesus loves us, this I know." Our question for today is this: do we love Him?
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In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: Mercy is More Hitting the Like Button 

This ministry of prayer and outreach (digital and in-person) is only possible because of the generosity of your support. If you'd like to help, 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.

Mercy is More than Hitting the Like Button

James, half-brother of Jesus, is blunt in a way that cuts to my very core. They've done that again today.

"For judgment will be merciless to the one who has shown no mercy, for mercy triumphs over judgment." James 2:13 nasb

Mercy is not merely goodwill toward those who have need, but also a desire to do something about their need. Mercy is being moved about starving children in Africa AND doing something about their hunger. It's looking at a difficult situation and saying, "What can I do about this?" Mercy doesn't stop at asking. Mercy does something to help.

One touching story after another makes its way into our social media feed. I'm great at "liking" the posts, but mercy is not hitting the "heart"/love button. Mercy is action that makes a difference.  Making a donation. Offering food or shelter to those in need. Volunteering in a soup kitchen. 

Mercy is helping in a tangible way.

That's what God did for us. He saw our sin need and, in mercy, decided to do something about it. It's the reason Jesus came. For mercy and grace. He didn't give us what we deserved. Instead, He gave us what we most needed: salvation from our sin.

Our job, then, is to exhibit the same kind of mercy Jesus did. He saw our need, knew we might not want what He offered, but He gave Himself anyway. His mercy triumphed over the judgment due us.

According to James, mercy is not optional. 

Today, let's act a little more like Jesus. Let's look for a need and meet it. No whining. No patting ourselves on the back. Just do it.

"My food," Jesus said, "Is to do the will of Him who sent me..." John4:34 niv
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In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: Why Do We Stay?

This ministry of prayer and outreach (digital and in-person) is only possible because of the generosity of your support. If you'd like to help, 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. 

Why Do We Stay?

I had actually taken a screenshot of something else. When I clicked on what I thought was the png file I needed, I found the photo (above) of a page in my Bible. In the margin, beside the last part of John 6, I'd written these words:

When His teachings were hard and difficult to understand, 

many disciples withdrew and did not follow anymore.

How do I respond when the journey is hard?

Not everyone who stayed for the journey

would reach the destination...

Judas stayed to betray.

Sometimes, the life of a disciple of Christ is tough. There's sacrifice that can seem monumental, rejection that's gut-stabbing hard, sorrow that can just about drown us from the waves of grief. 

It's all outweighed by the joy of relationship and the hope of eternity, but, in the hard moment, it's not easy to remember the joy and hope.

In the middle of hard, when we're learning to persevere, it's easy to walk away. 

Embrace the world again. 

Climb out of the deep and wade into the shallow water. 

I've seen some of that lately, and it breaks my heart.

When I'm in all-out-battle spiritual warfare, I can understand the decision, but it's not a good one.  

There are moments when I'd like an easier faith. Some days, an Olsteen-style prosperity gospel looks attractive to me, but I know better. 

Jesus didn't have a place to lay his head. He had to get money from the mouth of a fish to pay his taxes. His riches were in heaven, not on earth. 

These days, that's where most of my riches are, too.

If it's hard to stay the course as a disciple, why do we do it? Judas stayed to betray. He stayed for what He could get out of his relationship to Christ. In the end, his bad decisions and skewed priorities destroyed him.

I love the edge.

The fruit is never close to the sturdy trunk of the tree. Anyone who's ever gathered figs or apples or peaches knows that. It's always on the branch, on the floppy, not-quite-secure part. If the fruit's on the edge, that's where I want to be, too.

I don't persevere because of the fruit or the adventure, though. I stay because of relationship. I crave the still, small voice of God. The One who dragged me out of my sin, metaphorically made my feet like hind's feet and set me on the high places, is so sweet to me that I can't imagine any other life now.

The miracles. I have to admit that I love the miracles. I love seeing God do the utterly impossible in a way that makes it obvious it was Him. I love it that not one week goes by when I don't stand in amazement at the outrageous orchestrations of God. I love the awe.

I don't want any other life. I've finally made it to the life I was called to live and it looks nothing like I expected. I always knew I wasn't the one who would practice medicine until I'm ninety. I'm the one who'll still be praying, believing, writing, encouraging when I'm too old to walk around. Too frail to go. 

Because you're never too old or frail to be.

I stay because the "me" I am with Christ is so much better than the "me" I was when I was on my own and in the world. I'm more loving, caring, giving, forgiving.

I stay the course as a disciple because, despite the hard, it's worth it. 

The life I live is what Watchman Nee described as the "normal Christian life". You can have it, too, but you can't have it and the world. 

There's always a choice to make, and here's another one: What will you do with the life Jesus offers? 

We're not promised tomorrow, so today is the day to make your choice, take your stand. 

Choose well, my friends. Choose Christ, because He's worth it.

"'For I know the plans 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 

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In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: The Capture Bag: When Letting Go of Hurt and Anger is Way Past Due 

The Capture-Bag: When Letting Go of Hurt and Anger is Way Past Due

You may think I've gone to meddling now...

I was at the bedside of a dying woman some years ago. In her last few days, she talked about her brother. She didn't describe what he'd done, but she was still angry more than 75 years later. 

That memory had gnawed at her all her life and left a root of bitterness that was so deep it had become anchored in her heart.

We talked about the importance of forgiveness, but she chose to hold the memory and the anger close, as if it were a kind of prize.

Holding the memory was a prize, but it wasn't hers. That tight-fisted holding was a trophy for the evil one. 

When bad things happen, and they will, we can process the bad thing, forgive, and find the healing only Christ can give, or we can hang onto it and let it devour us with anger and bitterness.

Which one makes sense to you?

Evil abounds in this world, but we are to overcome evil with good. That's not my own Pollyanna-style foolishness. It comes straight from Scripture.

"Don't let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good." Romans 12:21 NLT

Before we go further, let me make one thing clear. There are terrible things that are done to children, and they leave a lasting impact. 

I hate those wicked deeds. 

There are acts of betrayal that feel like you've been kicked in the gut and trampled in the mud, and they can leave a lasting impact. 

I hate those acts of betrayal.

What I hate more, however, is the way those terrible deeds and acts of betrayal can gain the upper hand and destroy the rest of our lives. They can, in a way, train us to believe that we deserved the evil or that everyone betrays. That everyone will act in an evil way. 

Those are lies from the evil one and there is no freedom in them.

"It is for freedom that Christ set us free..." That's Galatians 5:1. Christ died and rose again to give us freedom over the wickedness in our own hearts and the wickedness of others perpetrated on us.

I'm not saying processing our hurts is easy or that freedom is cheap, but it is possible and we can have it if we want it. If we're willing to work for it.

I've had my share of hurt and betrayal and I've tried to let God heal it all. 

Yesterday in staff devotions I mentioned a beautiful thing that happened recently. Years ago, someone had said terrible things about me and been unkind. I had forgiven it, mainly because that was better for me than holding on and letting bitterness have a root. God eventually restored the relationship. I shared the sweetness of restoration.

"I know she hurt me, but the odd thing is that I can't remember what she did."

That's healing. Not only has the hurt lost its power over me, it's lost its hold in my head. I took those thoughts captive and asked God to remove them, and He did.  

"I can forgive but I can't forget" is a common adage, but it's not Scriptural wisdom. Let's agree to stop quoting this bit of trickiness from the evil one. If God can help you forgive, He can handle forgetting, too. 

You may not believe this right now, but, if you'll take your thoughts captive and give them to our Heavenly Father, He'll deal with them. You can't keep pulling them out of the capture-bag and massaging them to see if they still hurt, though. 

Do we want a free heart and free head or not? 

Here's how we do it. Start at the beginning of the hurt. Examine it, look for all it's roots in our lives, dig it up, forgive it, and offer it to God in a metaphorical capture-bag. Continue, one by one, through the hurts in our lives until the thought-capture-bag is full, then hand it over to the Only One who can remove it.

That sounds simplistic, I know, but the theory is right. Only God can help us process the biggest of hurts, but He's more than able. He stands ready and willing.

He's waiting for us to choose freedom. We may need help from a pastor or Christian counselor, and it may take time, but we can have release from all the hurts if we want it.

Today, let's choose freedom. When we do, we'll find we've made more room for God. 

"...and to know that love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fulness of God." Ephesians 3:19

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In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: When You've Been Kicked in the Repenter One Too Many Times 

This ministry of prayer and outreach (digital and in-person) is only possible because of the generosity of your support. If you'd like to help, here's the link to give your tax-deductible donations: Global Outreach Acct 4841

ps -the photo is of the traditional empty tomb of Jesus, who left it empty to remind us that we can overcome sin and death, because of Him, too. 

When You've Been Kicked in the Repenter One Too Many Times

Sometimes, I absolutely say the dumbest things imaginable. Last night was a perfect example. 

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know that James kicked me in the repenter just about every day while I was writing the study. One day, I got kicked so bad, I repented and cried all day, but I kept typing. Now that I'm taking the study I wrote, he's kicking me in the repenter again. 

There comes a point when you're ashamed to blog about repenting even one more time. Obviously, I'm doing it anyway.

Last night, I crawled into bed with my Bible and my laptop. I didn't really think I could do my morning Bible study the night before, but I thought maybe I could write a blog without Bible study. (That never works, so don't worry. I didn't do it.) 

Anyway, I was bone-tired and sick of all the repenter-kicking, so I announced, out loud, to the Lord. "I'm not gonna repent of anything tomorrow." Yes. It still sounds stupid today.

That still small voice whispered in my heart, "Oh, really?"

I deserved a lot worse than that, but those two words cut me to the core. "No, sir. I'll just get started tonight. I'm really sorry for that sassiness." 

As it turns out, refusing to repent for a whole day is a very bad idea. In fact, when we sin, we're suppose to repent on the spot and stop doing the sin. I highly recommend it.

There's nothing better than a clean heart and a right spirit, but you can't have them unless you allow God to get rid of the sin-mess first. Today, let's make an early start at repenting, and keep at it until we're done. 

"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." Psalm 51:10 nasb

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9 nasb
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ps - photo above was taken at the Lithostrotos, traditional site of Jesus' beating, place where soldiers cast lots, and Pilate delivered Him to the Jews to be crucified. John 19:13.
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In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post:  Using Grace as a Speech-Seasoning

This ministry of prayer and outreach (digital and in-person) is only possible because of the generosity of your support. If you'd like to help, here's the link to give your tax-deductible donations: Global Outreach Acct 4841