Walking With Jesus

Taking Responsibility for Your Own Heart

“That is why I use these parables, for they look, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand.” (Matthew 13:13 NLT)

Is it too much of an understatement to say there are things about God we can’t understand? And is it too great a stretch to believe there are things about ourselves that we don’t know, don’t understand, or haven’t yet even discovered? Life, on some levels, is like a parable and, like people who listened to Jesus, sometimes we hear without understanding and see without making sense of what we see.

It’s so easy for me to listen to the words of others, but not “hear” what they’re saying. Sometimes I hear anger instead of desperation; insult rather than a plea for help; opposition rather than a cry for inclusion. Is it safe to say we don’t always say what we mean, or, at least, say it in a way that doesn’t accurately convey what we want others to hear?

In some ways we want to escape responsibility for our own life. How so? As children much of our behavior was deflected onto our parents, for good or ill, and, as God’s children, there’s sometimes a part of us that would wish that could still happen. We sin, consistently breaking our Father’s heart, but rather than take responsibility for our own wrongdoing, we give excuse. “Afterall,” we reason, “I’m only following the dictates of my sinful nature. I can’t help but be me!”

In some ways that’s like saying: “The accident wasn’t my fault; the other driver should have gotten out of my way when I ran the red light.” What’s my point? Sometimes we want to pretend that someone else should take charge of our heart and make us do what only we can. We allow addictions to rule our lives but blame others because we can’t stop.

It happens in our closest relationships, especially marriage. We ignore the obvious until they, at least in our minds, become insurmountable problems. Janel Breitenstein wrote: “And even if your marriage is never resurrected, even if you find more things about your spouse you need to forgive rather than feel grateful for, thank God you can trust Him for the things you can change: In Him, you have the power to take responsibility for your own heart. Maybe that seems to set the bar low. Or is it only getting started, just tipping up our chins to spy God’s goodness?”

Jeremiah 17:9 reminds us: “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” It always scares me when someone says: “I’m just going to follow my heart.” The only hope for the human heart is to yield it to Jesus. That’s the only way we’ll ever find the strength, wisdom, and resource to take responsibility for our own heart. What does that even mean? What does it mean to take responsibility for our own heart?

What does it mean to take responsibility for anything? If I take responsibility for my neighbor’s dog, what does that look like? Doesn’t it clearly imply that I would care for that dog as if it were my own? That I would do everything in my power to take care of its needs? To make decisions on its behalf that would assure its safety and wellbeing?

By God’s grace, as we yield our hearts to Jesus, by His Spirit’s direction, He gives us the resource of wisdom and strength to do what we can’t in and of ourselves. We can, as He flows in and through us, do for ourselves what is in our best interest. By taking responsibility for our own heart we can turn from sin and addictive behaviors, habits that distract from obedience to the Lord, and replace them with the development of godly disciplines that will change the trajectory of our lives forever. We can, if we will.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

What’s Your View?

“Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s Kingdom. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!” (Matthew 13:43 NLT)

While on a mission’s trip to Mexico a few of us decided to maximize our free time by climbing a mountain. Our time was limited so we wanted to get as high as we could in the time we had. At first it was slow going as we made our way through heavy foliage, but when we finally emerged into an open area we were above the clouds and could see for miles.

C.S. Lewis in The Magician’s Nephew wrote: “What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing.” So often in the pursuit of our days activities we don’t take time to evaluate where we’re standing, in terms of our vantage as a child of God. While one person may see a setback, a person of God may see a window of opportunity.

As children of God there are two very important lessons we need to learn and the sooner we learn them the clearer our vision of God becomes. First, nothing enters our lives except it passes through the filter of God’s permission; therefore, for a child of God there is no such thing as an accident. And, secondly, there’s never one second of our life that God is not with us and for us.

Whether we view our lives from the perspective of standing alone or with God makes a world of difference in the interpretation of what we see, hear, and experience as children of God. When your marriage fails, you lose your job, a person you love leaves, gets sick, or dies, we’re passed over for a promotion – the list is endless of ways Satan seeks to cause us to believe we’ve been abandoned and are now alone.

To the extent you believe his lies, to that extent Satan will render you useless in your effectiveness for the Lord. Janel Breitenstein is a frequent contributor to the Family Life devotional I read each day. She writes: “Maybe your marriage as a whole has not turned out to be what you hoped. But what if at least parts of it are worthy of appreciating? What things in your marriage do you take for granted that would be someone else’s vacation, someone else’s greener grass? Perhaps you can find gratitude in that your marriage is based on Judeo-Christian values, rather than oppressive value systems still in place in other parts of the world. Or your family can eat regular meals and every member is literate, or you have married by choice.”

From where I stand, I have the best wife, best kids, most beautiful granddaughter, best friends, I live in the best neighborhood, serve together with the best believers at the best church in the best city in the world. My great Savior maximizes my life to enable me to see the best in people and take advantage of the best opportunities to be the best man of God I can possibly be. What’s your view?

Is your tendency to see the proverbial cup half full or half empty? Do you feel like everyone, including God, owes you? Do you believe you deserve much more appreciation, a much higher level job, marriage, place in your company, your family, your church? If that’s the case, you’re not following the Jesus I know. The Jesus of the Bible washed dirty feet, put everyone else ahead of Himself, went hungry so others could eat, loved so passionately He laid down His sinless life so that scoundrels like me and you could have a shot at living a life we don’t deserve.

May the Holy Spirit open our eyes to see the grandeur and majesty of our Savior, that we may see the undeserved and unparalleled privilege we have to be His slave.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Have You Conquered Yourself?

“Better to be patient than powerful; better to have self-control than to conquer a city.” (Proverbs 16:32 NLT)

Conquering ourselves is the hardest battle we face as human beings. It’s ironic that we can easily see problems in others, even including solutions for “their” issues, but when it comes to the person in the mirror, it seems our hands are tied. Why do you think that is? Could it be we can’t see our shortcomings because we’re blind to how they’re hurting, not only ourselves, but others?

Ron Hutchcraft wisely wrote: “What about that volcano temper that erupts briefly but scars permanently? How about that chainsaw mouth that rips even the people we love. That selfishness that insists ‘I’m more important than you are.’ The passions that cheapen sex, imprison your imagination. Those dark feelings that take us to some very bad places. The addiction that’s calling the shots.”

The most difficult “animal” to tame is our mind, from which comes every problem we’ll ever need to solve. Our mind, or what the Bible often refers to as our “heart,” is the minefield that gives direction to everything we think, say, do, or are.

In Matthew 12:35 Jesus said: “A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart.” And please don’t misunderstand, we have no goodness in and of ourselves. A genuinely “good” person is someone who has yielded their lives to the Lordship of Jesus, but does that mean unsaved people aren’t capable of any goodness? Of course not.

Every human being is made in the image of God, which means we have the capacity for God-like characteristics; however, sin distorts and destroys God’s image unless and until we give our allegiance to Jesus, who is the embodiment of all goodness. When we become children of God by virtue of our second birth spiritually, the Holy Spirit indwells us, thus amplifying God’s goodness in and through us.

Without Jesus we’re powerless to tame the wild spirit that reigns in us. He alone has authority to conquer the evil habits and inclinations with which we will battle ‘til our dying breath. But to the degree we give ourselves to the sway of the Holy Spirit, to that degree we’ll be freed to be all Jesus died to enable us to become.

Ron Hutchcraft wrote: “The Christian life is a moment-by-moment miracle, lived by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit takes the joy and peace of Christ and reproduces them in and through our lives. He takes the love of Christ and manifests it through us.”

Conquering sin and self is a lifelong battle, one that demands our dependence on Jesus every moment of every day. The common adage that says “We’re our own worst enemy,” seems never more true than when we’re seeking to be all we can be for our heavenly Father. The closer I get to Jesus and the more passionately I desire to be like Him, the more areas He points out that need His attention.

As the Lord enables us to win one battle only to face another, our tendency is to get discouraged, but therein lies the victory of perseverance. Those who aspire to be marathon runners don’t start by running 20 miles, but typically begin to train in the gym, conditioning their body and preparing their heart and lungs and legs, so that when they begin with short runs they don’t damage critical muscles or strain their body in other ways.

Similarly, conquering sin and overcoming the enemy of our soul, while we’ll never achieve final victory until we leave our body of clay, is a moment-by-moment process that draws us to Jesus and enables us to become more like Him. It’s well worth the effort it takes to be conquerors for His honor and fame.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Believing God for Miracles

“Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, ‘Look at us!’ The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. But Peter said, ‘I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!’ Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened.” (Acts 3:4-7 NLT)

There may be those of you who read these posts who believe the “age of miracles” was for the first century and the power of God to heal is no longer an option. I choose to believe being born again of the Spirit is a miracle. New life in Christ is a nature defying act of God, apart from whom no one will ever see heaven.

Others may believe that Peter “had the gift of healing,” but they/we don’t, therefore, believing for miraculous physical healing is not for us. My son, at age 16, had leukemia. He was pumped full of chemo, radiation, and other treatments that the doctors told us would likely disqualify him from ever fathering a child. Today my only granddaughter is eight, and he is her father. Coincidence or miracle? I choose to believe she is a miracle.

Nothing is impossible with God for those who believe. Sometimes we pray and pray asking God to do something He’s waiting for us to do. Are we praying for God to heal someone that He’s waiting for us to declare their healing in His name? I’ve prayed for many people to be healed, but without exception I’ve always prayed that God would touch and heal them. But that’s not what Peter and John did.

What if there’s someone the Lord is prompting me or you to reach out our hand and invite to rise from whatever crippling situation they have – in body, mind, or soul – and declare victory on their behalf in Jesus’ name and to His glory. To me this is a very sacred and personal issue. I want to get a clear word from the Lord before I set out on my healing tour (smile).

For the couple of years I’ve been praying for my neighbors I’ve always prayed some version of: “Lord, touch their lives, open their hearts and minds to You. Lord, put someone in their lives who loves You and can speak to them on Your behalf.” Recently, He said to me: “I have. It’s you!” So, now my mission is more personal. If God has appointed me, He’s given me authority to do what needs to be done to help everyone in my neighborhood yield their life and allegiance to Him.

But the same principle applies to physical, spiritual, relational, financial, mental, emotional, and every other type of issue we face. Jesus didn’t pray: “Father, don’t allow this fig tree to ever bear fruit again!” The Bible clearly says: “He said to it, ‘May you never bear fruit again!’” Please hear my heart, this has been a journey for me, so if you’re not there yet, I get it. But last month a young believer in my Men’s Group “commanded my Manières to leave my body.”

There’s hardly been a day in the last year or more that I haven’t had some symptom of Manières, but I haven’t had any since he prayed a few weeks ago. I’m tempted to give you words of caution, but the best advice I can offer is seek God’s wisdom and pray in a manner that will honor and glorify Him. If He chooses not to heal, He has His reasons that we may not understand until we get to the other side, but to me the better question is – what if He does!

What if we’ve been living with disease, spiritual or otherwise, for years – like the woman with the issue of blood for 12 years who was healed by touching His robe. Or the man who laid by the pool of Bethesda for 38 years, but at the word of Jesus he was healed. Jesus has given us authority to ask “anything in My name!” Let’s take Him at His word, ask, then leave the results to Him.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Whose Authority? (Part 2)

“The disciples were amazed. ‘Who is this man?’ they asked. ‘Even the winds and waves obey Him!’” (Matthew 8:27 NLT)

Authority isn’t license. Just because I CAN do something, isn’t my license to do it. I can burn my house down, but how would that benefit the Lord. Besides, my wife would be imprisoned for my murder. Seriously, we can push this issue of authority in directions that wouldn’t benefit anyone, but I’d like for us to look at a few things today that raise some questions I believe deserve an answer.

First, the verse above shows us the disciples’ response to Christ’s authority in a very vivid way – a life-threatening way. But what was the lesson? Jesus knew before the foundation of the earth that He would be in that boat on that lake when that storm would arise. He does nothing without purpose, so “why” Is a legitimate question.

“O My Soul” “Used by permission, © Ray Majoran, GlimpseOfInfinity.com”

After calming the wind and waves Jesus responded to the disciples’ fear with a question: “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” It was obviously a faith issue, but how? Put yourself in the shoes of the disciples. Wasn’t their fear real? Is Jesus mocking them? No! Not at all. In my mind I believe His question focuses on the purpose of the storm in the first place.

Yes, of course, their faith was centered and focused on Jesus, but what if Jesus was giving them an object lesson. It you read the context of this event; you see that the disciples have listened to Jesus’ inaugural Sermon on the Mount! Powerful and moving. Jesus healed a man with leprosy; healed the Roman officer’s servant without ever going to see him; healed Peter’s mother-in-law and cast out demons in many who came to Him.

It was almost as if Jesus wanted to escape the crowds by climbing into the boat. Then, finally asleep, the storm hit. Was Satan trying to take Jesus out? Maybe, but I prefer to believe Jesus is simply giving the disciples an opportunity to step up and experience first hand what they’ve been watching Jesus do.

Jesus’ question is spot on: “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” In the context it makes perfect sense. He could just as easily have asked them: “Why didn’t YOU command the storm to cease? I’ve shown you that there’s nothing that isn’t subject to My command. I’ve demonstrated my authority over and over.” Was it just too soon?

But let’s look at one more illustration where Jesus gets more specific. In Matthew 21, following Jesus’ “Triumphant Entry” into Jerusalem, He clears the Temple, heals blind and lame people, thus infuriating the Jewish leaders. Then the very next morning Jesus sees a fig tree with leaves, but no figs, so He curses it and immediately it withers up. Of course, the disciples were amazed, but listen carefully to what He says to them: “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.”

Could it be that in our prayers we’re not seeing answers because we’re not praying with authority? Are we trying to awaken Jesus to answer prayers He wants us to answer ourselves in His authority and to His honor? What if rather than praying for doors of opportunity to open to speak with someone about Jesus we get on the phone and set up an appointment? Then share Christ in the power of His Holy Spirit, expecting heaven to open and that soul to be delivered from death to life.

That’s enough for today, but let’s look at this from one more point of view in tomorrow’s post.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Whose Authority?

“But the officer said, ‘Lord, I am not worthy to have You come into my home. Just say the word from where You are, and my servant will be healed. I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.’” (Matthew 8:8-9 NLT)

It’s interesting to me that in the verses above the term “faith” isn’t mentioned, yet in the very next verse Jesus says: “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!” What should that tell us? Faith, apart from which we’ll never see God, begins, and ends with authority. What does that mean?

The word translated “authority” in the above verses means: “power of choice, liberty of doing as one pleases; the ability or strength with which one is endued, which he either possesses or exercises.” Faith exists when we understand where we stand in the overall scheme of things. We neither think too much of ourselves nor too little of ourselves.

The soldier recognized that his authority was given to him by those in authority over him. God is ultimately in authority over all creation. There’s no one, not even the man Jesus, who wasn’t under God the Father’s authority. That’s the essence of faith – recognizing and responding appropriately to the authority over us and the authority that we have been given out of which we serve.

So, how do we most effectively illustrate our faithfulness to God? By submitting to His authority over us. How, in practical terms, do we do that? We obey His commands. 1 John 2:5 says: “But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love Him. That is how we know we are living in Him.” That’s why we can’t continue in habitual sin. Why not? Because Christ has given us authority over that which seeks to rule and control us.

To live in unrepentant sin is to deny Christ’s authority over our lives, illuminating the lie that causes us to believe we’re a Jesus follower. How do I know that? If sin is our master, Jesus isn’t! It’s as simple as that. Does that mean we’ll never sin? That’s not what the Scriptures teach. As long as we’re in this body of clay we have the capacity to sin. But the joyful declaration of regeneration in Christ Jesus is that we now have a choice. We can sin, but we don’t have to!

And to the extent we deliberately, by an act of our will, turn from sin to obedience to the Lord of our life, we give credence to the faith we profess. Jesus followers walk in victory, not defeat, because our victory is in Him to whom we’ve submitted the authority of our lives to rule us as He sees fit. And the irony is, the greater measure of authority we give, the greater measure we receive. Authority isn’t something we brag about, it’s something to which we humbly submit, realizing the only authority we have is given to us from the Lord.

Why is that so important to understand? Because to believe we can command anything without the Lord’s consent is to overstep our bounds. We’ll look at this more closely in tomorrow’s post, but we need to tread softly when it comes to demonic powers or even sickness that we believe should be healed.

As a rule, the Lord has given us far more authority than we exercise, but there’s sometimes a thin line between who gets the credit. We must search our motives before we “command” anything in Jesus’ name. Whose glory, recognition, and honor are we really seeking – His or ours?

Blessings, Ed 😊

What Does Extraordinary Look Like?

“But Peter asked them all to leave the room; then he knelt and prayed. Turning to the body he said, ‘Get up, Tabitha.’ And she opened her eyes! When she saw Peter, she sat up! He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then he called in the widows and all the believers, and he presented her to them alive.” (Acts 9:40-41 NLT)

Sounds like something Jesus would do, right? And it is Jesus, He’s just using Peter as His hands and voice. May I ask you – isn’t the same Jesus living in you and me that lived in Peter? And if He is, why aren’t we seeing miracles as a matter of our everyday lives? The Bible says in Acts 19:11-12: “God gave Paul the power to perform unusual miracles. When handkerchiefs or aprons that had merely touched his skin were placed on sick people, they were healed of their diseases, and evil spirits were expelled.”

We see miracle after miracle in the lives of the early believers, and even today, in other parts of the world, God is using ordinary people, who seem quite extraordinary to us, to perform miracles very much like He did throughout the Bible.

Aren’t you tired of being ordinary? I am, but what might “extraordinary” look like for me and you? It begins with giving God permission to do whatever He desires in and through us. That’s my prayer today and everyday for the rest of my life – “Father, do whatever you desire to do in, through, and on my behalf, enabling me to be, say, think, and do whatever you desire from me.”

I’m tired of professing what I’m not demonstrating in and through my life. I’m tired of asking the Lord to do for the people in my family and other spheres of influence what He is directing me to do for them. I’m sick of limp prayers that wouldn’t move a moth, let alone a mountain. I’m tired of looking at others whom I perceive as extraordinary, while viewing myself as a spiritual water boy.

Life is too short to set on the sidelines. And I realize that we all have limitations. I’m 75, I know about limitations, but I’ve concluded that if I don’t have something, I don’t need it to do what God’s calling me to do. God only asks us to do things with what He’s given us, so If I’m bedridden or crippled or physically handicapped, I obviously don’t need perfect health to obey God.

We must focus, not on what we’ve lost, but on what we have left. As Jesus followers we have everything we need to be everything He’s calling us to be – nothing more, nothing less. It doesn’t take someone in perfect physical, mental, emotional, financial, relational, _________ condition to lay down their life at the foot of Jesus’ cross and say: “Here am I, Lord, use me!”

The only perfect human being died in our place to liberate us to be all we can be to His honor and fame. Jesus is the subject – not religion, not being good enough, not knowing more, being more – just submitting to the Lord’s authority by bowing moment by moment to His lordship over us. We’re not our own, we’ve been bought with the priceless blood of our Savior. We can’t be Him, but we can be all He died to enable us to be for Him.

What will being extraordinary look like for you? Let the Lord walk the corridors of your heart and life and tell you what He wants to change, then get out of the way and let Him go to work. No one will force you to do anything against your will, but when you submit your will to Him, He will work in ways you never dared dream possible.

You and I may not be the next Peter, Paul, John or other person the Lord has used powerfully, but maybe we will be! God alone knows and He alone will equip and enable us to be the best “US” that we can possibly be. We just have to get out of the way and let Him work.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

I AM For Your Every Need

“When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘I am El-Shaddai – “God Almighty,” serve Me faithfully and live a blameless life.'” (Genesis 17:1 NLT)

*The Lord is the answer to our every need. There’s never a need He won’t supply. Sylvia Gunter has put together a very interesting “tool” for us when we’re tempted to believe we have a need the Lord can’t meet. Please read carefully and thoughtfully this valuable resource by Sister Gunter and put it someplace you won’t forget where it is, so you’ll have it for future reference. Blessings, Ed (used with permission)

We are all living in unsettling and unusual times. Sometimes we don’t even know why we feel the way we feel because we have never experienced anything like this before. When everything feels like shifting sand, we cling to our loving Father who never changes. There are hundreds of names and attributes for God in the Bible. God refers to Himself using “I am” over 300 times, first in the book of Genesis (15:1) and last in Revelation (22:16). He doesn’t call Himself “I was” or “I will be”. He says “I am.” He is never-changing and ever-present.

Take some time to list every need and emotion that you are feeling, no matter how small they seem. After you have acknowledged your emotions and needs, ask God “God who are you for me in this need or emotion?” and listen for what He speaks to your heart and mind. For every need, there is a corresponding attribute of God for you.

He is the I AM for our needs

He is Abba Father when we need fathering.

He is acceptance when we feel unwanted.

He is adequacy for our inadequacy.

He is all-sufficient in our hardest situations.

He is the Answer for our uncertainty and questions.

He is the Author of faith for our unbelief or doubt.

He is the Bread of life for our spiritual hunger.

He is broken and spilled out for us when we’ve been used.

He is the Burden-bearer when we are heavy laden.

He is before all things when we’re surprised.

He is cleansing for our defilement and shame.

He is closer than a brother when we are lonely.

He is our Comforter who wipes away tears in our griefs and sorrows.

He is our Defender when we are under attack.

He is our Deliverer from our bondage or captivity.

He is our Door-opener when it looks like there’s no way out.

He is our sure Foundation, when we’re insecure.

He is our Faithful Friend when friends fail us.

He is Fullness when we’re empty.

He is God of love when we feel unloved and need a hug.

He is God who is there when we feel alone or abandoned.

He is our Guide and the Way when we’re confused and need direction.

He is grace when we’re too hard on ourselves or others.

He is our Healer for woundedness, rejection, and sickness.

He is Hope when we are discouraged and want to quit.

He is Humility for our pride.

He is Joy when we are depressed.

He is our Keeper and Protector when we are vulnerable.

He is the Lifter of our heads when we feel weighed down.

He is long-suffering, slow to anger when we have blown it again.

He is Mercy for criticism and unkindness.

He is Mighty God, our strength for our weakness or temptation.

He is Never-failing, always the same when we are fickle and faithless.

He is Overcoming victory for defeat and depression.

He is the Plumb Line to stand against the world’s situational ethics.

He is the Prince of peace when we are stressed, worried, and confused.

He is the Provider for every financial need.

He is the Quieter of the storm for afflictions without and struggles within.

He is Reconciliation for breaches in relationships.

He is Rest when we’re tired.

He is the Restorer of our souls when we’re bruised and beaten down.

He is the Reviver, living water when we are depleted and thirsty.

He is Satisfaction when we’ve tried everything and come up empty.

He is the Song, our praise when we’re joyless and heavy of heart.

He is the Spirit of the Lord when we need to be set free.

He is our Strength when we’re weak.

He is Truth for the world’s warped opinions.

He is True Riches when we’re tempted to covet the world’s wealth.

He is Vengeance when we are angry and wronged.

He is our Way Maker when there seems to be no way through.

He is Wisdom for our hard choices.

This is only a beginning. Make your own list as a personal affirmation that God is more than enough for all of your needs. He is the Most High God who reigns over all.

For archive of past devotionals:www.thefathersbusiness.com

Have We Cheapened the Gospel?

“Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed amazing miracles and signs among the people.” (Acts 6:8 NLT)

Stephen was chosen among six other men to serve the needs of the growing ministry of the early Church, so the original disciples could devote their time to teaching the word of God. Stephen, as the verse above indicates, was “a man full of God’s grace and power.” Do you know anyone like that? Isn’t that supposed to describe every believer in Jesus?

We have so watered down and cheapened what it means to be a Jesus follower, when it becomes evident that someone is filled with God’s grace and power – as every believer is supposed to be, we marvel at how God uses them. We see them as “extraordinary,” yet, what God intended and what was illustrated in the life of Jesus, was that any person filled with God is more than they could ever be without God’s Spirit abiding in them.

I’m reading a devotional book which I highly recommend entitled The Indwelling Life of Christ – All of Him in All of Me, by Major W. Ian Thomas. In a somewhat embellished conversation with Nicodemus, the Pharisee who came to meet Jesus at night, Jesus says: “You are right that I am also extraordinary, but let Me tell you something: No matter how ordinary a person may be, put God in that person, and the ordinary becomes extraordinary.”

So, I ask myself and you, dear Jesus follower: Are you extraordinary? Think of what was ordinary in the first century Church. Think of Peter, even while Jesus was alive. In Matthew 14 Jesus invited Peter to walk on water, and he did! Not just Jesus – Peter! A very ordinary man. It was also Peter, along with James and John who witnessed the Transfiguration of Jesus speaking with Moses and Elijah.

Peter and the other disciples had a front row seat to miracle after miracle. It was common practice for Jesus to heal, cast out demons, even raise the dead, every day! These weren’t random occurrences, they were “business as usual” for Jesus. And remember, Jesus said He could do nothing except His Father gave Him the power.

Listen child of God, we are empowered by that same Spirit, but we cruise through life like we’re in a Prius, when God has given us a Turbo Porsche. Why? Why aren’t we – you and me – seeing people healed, delivered, and raised to new life in Christ EVERY DAY? Craig Groeschel said: “God did not call us to blend in, but to stand out.”

What better way to stand out than to let the Spirit of the living Christ loose on the people in our spheres of influence. And I can hear some of my own excuses: “O, but it might embarrass my friends.” Or “That would require a higher level of commitment than what I’m living.” Or “Wouldn’t that draw a lot of attention to me?”

Do you not see that Jesus drew attention to Himself, often embarrassed His disciples, and exhibited the same level of commitment to His Father and to His mission that we should exhibit in our life? I believe those aren’t the real issues, at least for me. You see, I read the end of Jesus’ human story on earth and it wasn’t pretty. He was nailed to a cross, the most brutal and publicly humiliating death ever conceived. But without the Cross, there can be no resurrection!

If we’re not willing to pick up our cross and follow Him, how can we ever experience the resurrected life that only comes to those willing to submit to His Lordship. Yes, of course, we can live like everyone else, but to what end? Heaven? Truthfully, for the little most of us contribute to the Kingdom of God, except for the grace of God, none of us deserve to make it.

We’ve so cheapened the Gospel most people in our spheres of influence have a hard time telling the difference between us and everyone else who lives on our street. God help us!

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed

Our Faith Journey (Part 2)

“Jesus told him (Thomas) ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Me. If you had really known Me, you would know who My Father is. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him!’” (John 14:6-7 NLT)

The above verses were spoken by Jesus in the upper room on the night He was to be betrayed. It’s almost like He’s trying to give the disciples a crash course on all He’s been teaching them the last three years. In the next verse Philip asks Jesus: “’Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.’ Jesus replied, ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father!’”

Is it too much of a stretch for Jesus to ask me or you –“Have I been with you all this time…and yet you still don’t know who I am?”

The goal of Jesus’ life and ministry was to put His heavenly Father on display. The God of creation who was before all things resided in the Person of His only Son, the Lord Jesus, for the express intention of making Himself known. So that the invisible God could now, in and through Jesus, become visible.

That’s the ministry in which we’re still invested if we’re following the Jesus of the Bible. How did Jesus do anything that He did while living on this earth? Through the power of His Father! How does He expect any of us to do anything WE do on this earth? Through the power of His Father! The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three in ONE!

To be filled with God the Holy Spirit is to be filled with God the FATHER and God the SON! Why is that so vital to understand? Because we’re living FAR, FAR BELOW OUR MEANS AS CHILDREN OF THE LIVING GOD! NOTHING is impossible to those who believe. Let me prove it to you.

Now, let’s get back to the sinking boat for a minute. Why was Jesus asking the disciples about their faith? He asked them: “Where is your faith?” What was the question behind the question? What was Jesus really asking them…and us? Because He had given them the same authority that His Father had given Him. Why didn’t THEY calm the wind and rain? It’s not a stretch for me to believe Jesus set up the whole scenario to give them opportunity to discover that for themselves.

Do you remember what the 72 disciples Jesus had sent out said when they returned? Luke 10:17 records: “When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to Him, ‘Lord, even the demons obey us when we use Your name!” Listen to the commission that Jesus gave us in Matthew 28:18: “Jesus came and told His disciples, ‘I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go…!’”

The same Spirit that indwelt Jesus as a human being fills and empowers us. So? That means the same authority that was given Him is given to us. Does that mean we should start performing miracles and go out and make a name for ourselves? Satan would love that, but no, our commission is not to make a name for ourselves but to use the authority Jesus has given us to make His Name known among everyone in our spheres of influence.

Sinclair B. Ferguson said: “God the Father is absolutely, completely, and totally to us what he reveals himself to be to us in Christ.”

What does that mean to us today? How can knowing that change the whole trajectory of our lives? I think we’re on to something. Let’s take a closer look at this tomorrow.

Blessings, Ed 😊